BIO044 (LAB) MOD 8 CNIDARIA (JELLIES, HYDRAS, AND CORALS) Flashcards
Contains a large number of interesting animals, but most of the 10,000 or more
species live in salt water and are seen alive by only a small proportion.
Phylum Cnidaria
The members of Phylum Cnidaria consist of.
radially symmetrical animals
Phylum Cnidaria is
Dipoblastic
Dipoblastics have 2 true tissue layers:
- Ectoderm
- Endoderm
Ectoderm forms the outer layer:
Epidermis
Primitive nervous system without a brain.
nerve net
Contractile epithelial cells for movement; not true
muscles.
epitheliomuscular cell fibers
Endoderm forms the inner layer.
gastrodermis
The space in between the epidermis and gastrodermis is
filled with an extracellular matrix made of 96% water called the______.
mesoglea
Cnidarians display?
dimorphism
Cnidarians display dimorphism. They come in two (2) forms:
Polyp and Medusa
Which is sessile and reproduces sexually.
Polyp
Which is free-swimming and reproduce sexually.
Medusa
(“outer skin”) the outer tissue layer.
Epidermis
(“middle gel”) jelly-like middle layer which maintains the shape of the cnidarian. It is wider in medusas and narrower in polyps.
Mesoglea
(“stomach skin”) the inner tissue layer that is lined with gastrodermal cells, which releases digestive enzymes when food enters the gastrovascular cavity
Gastrodermis
The incomplete/blind gut. It is often branched and extending into the tentacles.
Gastrovascular cavity
As the gut is incomplete, cnidarians only have one orifice for ingestion of food and excretion of waste.
Mouth/Anus (Oral disc)
Extensions of the body that forms a ring around the oral disc.
Tentacles
It is lined with
stinging cells called:
cnidocytes
Which houses a stinging organelle to capture and deliver toxins to prey.
nematocysts
Found only in the medusa form; it is the concave “top” of a jellyfish.
Bell
Found only in the polyp form; it is the “stalk” of the polyp which attaches it to the
substrate/sea floor.
Pedal disc
Fund only in corals (Class Anthozoa); secretes an exoskeleton made of calcium
carbonate.
Calicle