Species found in the phylum Cnidaria are often soft-bodied animals living in the oceans in at least one of two forms in its lifetime.
- dimorphic - two life cycles / forms - polyp - anchored & sessile (non-mobile) - medusa - motile (mobile) - the medusa form is the inverted version of the polyp form - stinging tentacles around mouth/anus - cnidocytes - stinging cells for hunting and defending - each contains a nematocyst - a poisonous sting that contains a tightly- coiled dart that unleashes like a harpoon - species vary between sexual and asexual reproduction - carnivorous - radially symmetric |
Classes of Cnidaria |
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