Cnidarian Diversity

Phylum Cnidaria

Class Class Class Class

Anthozoa Hydrozoa Scyphozoa Cubozoa

Corals Hydra True jellyfish Box jellies

Anemones Portuguese Man-Of-War Sea wasps
Stinging Limu
Fire Coral
 Class
Anthozoa

Subclass Subclass
Hexacorallia Alyconaria
Sea fans
Sea whips
Sea pens
Organ pipe coral
Precious gold coral

Order Order Order Order

Zoanthidae Actinaria Scleractinia Antipatharia
Zoanthids Sea anemones Stony corals Precious black coral
Wire coral
 General Characteristics of Cnidaria

• Stinging cells
• Two stages in life cycle (polyp & medusa)
• Blind sack gut
• Radial symmetry
• Diploblastic
• Hydrostatic skeleton
• Nerve net
• Many colonial, some solitary forms
 Class Hydrozoa
(Gr. hydra, water serpent)
• polyps and medusa stage, although polyp stage is
dominant.
• gut cavity of polyp is simple, lacking a pharynx and not
divided by mesenteries.
• tetramerous (four-part) radial symmetry.
• gonads are ectodermal (found in the epidermis).
• medusa stage may possess specialized balance organs
called statocysts and photosensitive organs called ocelli.
• solitary or colonials; some colonial forms highly
polymorphic.
• includes hydroids (“stinging limu”), fire coral, pink coral, and
siphonophores.
 The Cnidarian Life Cycle

The Hydrozoan
Life Cycle
Hydrozoan Colony
Hydrozoan Colonies
“Stinging Limu”
Hydrozoan Medusa
Hydrozoan Medusa
Hydrocorals
Fire Coral
 By-the-Wind-Sailor
A Floating Colony of Polyps
Coloniality
Man-of-War
Phylum Cnidaria
 Close Up of a
Portuguese Man-Of-War
 Class Scyphozoa
(Gr. skyphos, cup)
• life cycle with both polyps and medusae, but medusae dominate
with polyp stage reduced or absent.
• polyp stage (scyphistoma) goes through strobilization to produce
young medusa.
• bell margin lacks a velum.
• tetramerous (= four-part) radial symmetry.
• gut divided into a complex system of radial canals.
• some with a simple single mouth, but many with thousands of
microscopic “mouths” at the ends of oral arms.
• gonads endodermal (found in the gastrodermis).
• specialized sense organs called rhopalia with ocelli & statocysts .
• includes some 200 marine species.
• "true" sea jellies.
Scyphozoan Life Cycle

strobila
scyphistoma

ephyra
planula

adult medusa

gametes

scyphistoma
strobila
Sea Jellies
Moon Jelly
Anatomy
 Class Cubozoa
(Gr. kybos, a cube)
• polyps and medusae stages, but medusae dominate
with polyp stage reduced.
• polyp stage develops directly into medusa.
• bell margin with a velarium.
• tetramerous (= four-part) radial symmetry; bell cube-
shaped with tentacles arising from each corner.
• gonads endodermal (found in the gastrodermis).
• specialized sense organs called rhopalia with ocelli &
statocysts .
• includes some 15 marine species.
• includes box jellies and sea wasps.
 Seawasp

Box Jellies
Box Jelly Anatomy
 Class Anthozoa
(Gr. anthos, flower)
• lack medusa stage entirely (polyp forms only)
• mouth with a tubular pharynx that projects inward
into the gut
• large gut cavity divided by mesenteries that radiate
inwards from the body wall
• gonads endodermal, borne on the mesenteries
• hexamerous (6-part) or octamerous (8-part) radial
symmetry or biradial (modified radial symmetry that
limits the number of planes that can divide the body
into equal halves
• includes sea anemones, “true” stony corals, sea
fans, sea pens, organ pipe coral, precious black
coral, & zoanthids
Subclass Zoantharia
Order Actinaria
Sea Anemones
Sea Anemone Anatomy
Subclass Hexacorallia
Order Zoanthidae
• No hard skeleton
• May be tough and leathery
• Shallow water forms
• Encrusting forms
• Some with zooxanthellae
• Polyp stage only
 Subclass Hexacorallia
Order Antipatheria
Black Coral & Wire Coral
Black coral

Wire coral
 Subclass Hexacorallia
Order Scleractinia
“True” Stony Corals
Hermatypic- reef building, zooxanthellae
Common species:
• Acroporidae- table
• Acroporidea- rice
• Agariciidae- flat lobe, corrugated
• Faviidae- crust, ocellated
• Fungiidae- humpback, mushroom
• Pocilloporidae- lace, antler, cauliflower
• Poritidae- finger, lobe, plate
 “True” Stony Corals
lobe

finger

mushroom

Porites rus
 Subclass Alyconaria
Octocorals
• 8 branched tentacles surrounding the mouth
• Both hard and soft forms exist
• Ahermatypic- non reef building, no
photosynthesis

Five Orders found in Hawaii:

1. Stolonifera
2. Pennatulacea (sea pens)
3. Alcyonacea (soft corals)
4. Telestacae (snowflake corals)
5. Gorgonacea (sea fans)
Octocorals

Sea pen
Snowflake coral
Organ pipe coral