120-428: Trachymedusae belong to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa , among the 30 genera are 5 families containing around 50 species in all, the family Rhopalonematidae has the greatest diversity. Trachymedusae are identifiable by their umbrella edge which lacks any lobes. The tentacles at the edge of the umbrellas are solid or solid and hollow, there is a thickened tissue ring that has a large number of nematocysts ,
240-445: A larva swims until it finds a good site, and then becomes a polyp. This grows normally but then absorbs its tentacles and splits horizontally into a series of disks that become juvenile medusae, a process called strobilation . The juveniles swim off and slowly grow to maturity, while the polyp re-grows and may continue strobilating periodically. The adult medusae have gonads in the gastroderm , and these release ova and sperm into
360-404: A metachronal rhythm rather like that of a Mexican wave . From each balancer in the statocyst a ciliary groove runs out under the dome and then splits to connect with two adjacent comb rows, and in some species runs along the comb rows. This forms a mechanical system for transmitting the beat rhythm from the combs to the balancers, via water disturbances created by the cilia. The Lobata has
480-469: A phylum of marine invertebrates , commonly known as comb jellies , that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and they are the largest animals to swim with the help of cilia. Depending on the species, adult ctenophores range from a few millimeters to 1.5 m (5 ft) in size. Only 186 living species are currently recognised. Their bodies consist of
600-402: A "darting motion". Most Platyctenida have oval bodies that are flattened in the oral-aboral direction, with a pair of tentilla-bearing tentacles on the aboral surface. They cling to and creep on surfaces by everting the pharynx and using it as a muscular "foot". All but one of the known platyctenid species lack comb-rows. Platyctenids are usually cryptically colored, live on rocks, algae, or
720-441: A decentralized nerve net and simple receptors . Cnidarians also have rhopalia , which are involved in gravity sensing and sometimes chemoreception. Several free-swimming species of Cubozoa and Scyphozoa possess balance-sensing statocysts , and some have simple eyes . Not all cnidarians reproduce sexually , but many species have complex life cycles of asexual polyp stages and sexual medusae stages. Some, however, omit either
840-494: A diverse group that includes all the freshwater cnidarians as well as many marine forms, and has both sessile members such as Hydra and colonial swimmers such as the Portuguese Man o' War . Staurozoa have recently been recognised as a class in their own right rather than a sub-group of Scyphozoa, and the parasitic Myxozoa and Polypodiozoa are now recognized as highly derived cnidarians rather than more closely related to
960-571: A domed head with vesicles (chambers) that contain adhesive; a stalk that anchors the cell in the lower layer of the epidermis or in the mesoglea; and a spiral thread that coils round the stalk and is attached to the head and to the root of the stalk. The function of the spiral thread is uncertain, but it may absorb stress when prey tries to escape, and thus prevent the colloblast from being torn apart. One species, Minictena luteola, which only measure 1.5mm in diameter, have five different types of colloblast cells. In addition to colloblasts, members of
1080-496: A few are parasites . Many are preyed on by other animals including starfish , sea slugs , fish , turtles , and even other cnidarians. Many scleractinian corals—which form the structural foundation for coral reefs —possess polyps that are filled with symbiotic photo-synthetic zooxanthellae . While reef-forming corals are almost entirely restricted to warm and shallow marine waters, other cnidarians can be found at great depths, in polar regions , and in freshwater. Cnidarians are
1200-421: A few ctenophore species lack them. Like cnidarians, ctenophores have two main layers of cells that sandwich a middle layer of jelly-like material, which is called the mesoglea in cnidarians and ctenophores; more complex animals have three main cell layers and no intermediate jelly-like layer. Hence ctenophores and cnidarians have traditionally been labelled diploblastic . Both ctenophores and cnidarians have
1320-488: A hydra's nematocysts are lost from its tentacles when capturing a brine shrimp . Used cnidocytes have to be replaced, which takes about 48 hours. To minimise wasteful firing, two types of stimulus are generally required to trigger cnidocytes: nearby sensory cells detect chemicals in the water, and their cilia respond to contact. This combination prevents them from firing at distant or non-living objects. Groups of cnidocytes are usually connected by nerves and, if one fires,
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#17328693573671440-462: A mass of jelly, with a layer two cells thick on the outside, and another lining the internal cavity. The phylum has a wide range of body forms, including the egg-shaped cydippids with a pair of retractable tentacles that capture prey, the flat, generally combless platyctenids , and the large-mouthed beroids , which prey on other ctenophores. Almost all ctenophores function as predators , taking prey ranging from microscopic larvae and rotifers to
1560-452: A maximum depth of 46 m (151 ft), temperatures between 20 and 28 °C (68 and 82 °F), high salinity , and low carbon dioxide levels. Stauromedusae , although usually classified as jellyfish, are stalked, sessile animals that live in cool to Arctic waters. Cnidarians range in size from a mere handful of cells for the parasitic myxozoans through Hydra' s length of 5–20 mm ( 1 ⁄ 4 – 3 ⁄ 4 in), to
1680-424: A mix of calcified and uncalcified species). Cnidaria are diploblastic animals; in other words, they have two main cell layers, while more complex animals are triploblasts having three main layers. The two main cell layers of cnidarians form epithelia that are mostly one cell thick, and are attached to a fibrous basement membrane , which they secrete . They also secrete the jelly-like mesoglea that separates
1800-400: A mouth that can usually be closed by muscles; a pharynx ("throat"); a wider area in the center that acts as a stomach ; and a system of internal canals. These branch through the mesoglea to the most active parts of the animal: the mouth and pharynx; the roots of the tentacles, if present; all along the underside of each comb row; and four branches around the sensory complex at the far end from
1920-576: A nervous system, with the genes coding for the receptors for each of these neurotransmitters missing. Monofunctional catalase (CAT), one of the three major families of antioxidant enzymes that target hydrogen peroxide , an important signaling molecule for synaptic and neuronal activity, is also absent, most likely due to gene loss. They have been found to use L-glutamate as a neurotransmitter , and have an unusually high variety of ionotropic glutamate receptors and genes for glutamate synthesis and transport compared to other metazoans. The genomic content of
2040-561: A pair of lobes, which are muscular, cuplike extensions of the body that project beyond the mouth. Their inconspicuous tentacles originate from the corners of the mouth, running in convoluted grooves and spreading out over the inner surface of the lobes (rather than trailing far behind, as in the Cydippida). Between the lobes on either side of the mouth, many species of lobates have four auricles, gelatinous projections edged with cilia that produce water currents that help direct microscopic prey toward
2160-452: A relatively thick, jelly-like mesoglea sandwiched between two epithelia , layers of cells bound by inter-cell connections and by a fibrous basement membrane that they secrete . The epithelia of ctenophores have two layers of cells rather than one, and some of the cells in the upper layer have several cilia per cell. The outer layer of the epidermis (outer skin) consists of: sensory cells; cells that secrete mucus , which protects
2280-454: A ring around the mouth. The only known ctenophores with long nerves today is Euplokamis in the order Cydippida. Their nerve cells arise from the same progenitor cells as the colloblasts. In addition there is a less organized mesogleal nerve net consisting of single neurites. The largest single sensory feature is the aboral organ (at the opposite end from the mouth), which is underlined with its own nerve net. This organ's main component
2400-414: A supporting function. These normally beat so that the propulsion stroke is away from the mouth, although they can also reverse direction. Hence ctenophores usually swim in the direction in which the mouth is eating, unlike jellyfish . When trying to escape predators, one species can accelerate to six times its normal speed; some other species reverse direction as part of their escape behavior, by reversing
2520-499: A type of muscle that, in more complex animals, arises from the middle cell layer , and as a result some recent text books classify ctenophores as triploblastic , while others still regard them as diploblastic. The comb jellies have more than 80 different cell types , exceeding the numbers from other groups like placozoans, sponges, cnidarians, and some deep-branching bilaterians. Ranging from about 1 millimeter (0.04 in) to 1.5 meters (5 ft) in size, ctenophores are
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#17328693573672640-451: A type of muscle that, in more complex animals, arises from the middle cell layer . As a result, some recent text books classify ctenophores as triploblastic , and it has been suggested that cnidarians evolved from triploblastic ancestors. Most adult cnidarians appear as either free-swimming medusae or sessile polyps , and many hydrozoans species are known to alternate between the two forms. Both are radially symmetrical , like
2760-511: A very ancient phylum, with fossils having been found in rocks formed about 580 million years ago during the Ediacaran period , preceding the Cambrian Explosion . Other fossils show that corals may have been present shortly before 490 million years ago and diversified a few million years later. Molecular clock analysis of mitochondrial genes suggests an even older age for
2880-469: A wheel and a tube respectively. Since these animals have no heads, their ends are described as "oral" (nearest the mouth) and "aboral" (furthest from the mouth). Most have fringes of tentacles equipped with cnidocytes around their edges, and medusae generally have an inner ring of tentacles around the mouth. Some hydroids may consist of colonies of zooids that serve different purposes, such as defense, reproduction and catching prey. The mesoglea of polyps
3000-514: A worldwide range: some, such as Hydra , live in freshwater; Obelia appears in the coastal waters of all the oceans; and Liriope can form large shoals near the surface in mid-ocean. Among anthozoans , a few scleractinian corals , sea pens and sea fans live in deep, cold waters, and some sea anemones inhabit polar seabeds while others live near hydrothermal vents over 10 km (33,000 ft) below sea-level. Reef -building corals are limited to tropical seas between 30°N and 30°S with
3120-400: Is a statocyst , a balance sensor consisting of a statolith, a tiny grain of calcium carbonate, supported on four bundles of cilia , called "balancers", that sense its orientation. The statocyst is protected by a transparent dome made of long, immobile cilia. A ctenophore does not automatically try to keep the statolith resting equally on all the balancers. Instead, its response is determined by
3240-592: Is based, in part, on the presence in the hydra genome of genes homologous to genes in other genetically well studied species that have been demonstrated to play key roles in these DNA repair pathways. Cnidarians were for a long time grouped with Ctenophores in the phylum Coelenterata , but increasing awareness of their differences caused them to be placed in separate phyla. Modern cnidarians are generally classified into four main classes : sessile Anthozoa ( sea anemones , corals , sea pens ); swimming Scyphozoa (jellyfish) and Cubozoa (box jellies); and Hydrozoa ,
3360-404: Is circular rather than oval in cross-section, and the pharynx extends over the inner surfaces of the lobes. The Thalassocalycida , only discovered in 1978 and known from only one species, are medusa-like, with bodies that are shortened in the oral-aboral direction, and short comb-rows on the surface furthest from the mouth, originating from near the aboral pole. They capture prey by movements of
3480-405: Is not expected the populations will survive. The two limiting factors in saline lakes are availability of food and a varied diet, and high temperatures during hot summers. Because a parasitic isopod, Livoneca redmanii , was introduced at the same time, it is difficult to say how much of the ecological impact of invasive species is caused by the ctenophore alone. Ctenophores may be abundant during
3600-412: Is not known how long these can survive. In some species the ova release chemicals that attract sperm of the same species. The fertilized eggs develop into larvae by dividing until there are enough cells to form a hollow sphere ( blastula ) and then a depression forms at one end ( gastrulation ) and eventually becomes the digestive cavity. However, in cnidarians the depression forms at the end further from
3720-444: Is over they will not produce more gametes again until later. A population of Mertensia ovum in the central Baltic Sea have become paedogenetic , and consist solely of sexually mature larvae less than 1.6 mm. In Mnemiopsis leidyi , nitric oxide (NO) signaling is present both in adult tissues and differentially expressed in later embryonic stages suggesting the involvement of NO in developmental mechanisms. The mature form of
Trachymedusae - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-660: Is partly parasitic . If food is plentiful, they can eat 10 times their own weight per day. While Beroe preys mainly on other ctenophores, other surface-water species prey on zooplankton (planktonic animals) ranging in size from the microscopic, including mollusc and fish larvae, to small adult crustaceans such as copepods , amphipods , and even krill . Members of the genus Haeckelia prey on jellyfish and incorporate their prey's nematocysts (stinging cells) into their own tentacles instead of colloblasts . Ctenophores have been compared to spiders in their wide range of techniques for capturing prey – some hang motionless in
3960-410: Is still struggling. The mesoglea contains small numbers of amoeba -like cells, and muscle cells in some species. However, the number of middle-layer cells and types are much lower than in sponges. Polymorphism refers to the occurrence of structurally and functionally more than two different types of individuals within the same organism. It is a characteristic feature of Cnidarians, particularly
4080-409: Is usually thin and often soft, but that of medusae is usually thick and springy, so that it returns to its original shape after muscles around the edge have contracted to squeeze water out, enabling medusae to swim by a sort of jet propulsion . In medusae, the only supporting structure is the mesoglea . Hydra and most sea anemones close their mouths when they are not feeding, and the water in
4200-697: The Lion's mane jellyfish , which may exceed 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and 75 m (246 ft) in length. Prey of cnidarians ranges from plankton to animals several times larger than themselves. Some cnidarians are parasites , mainly on jellyfish but a few are major pests of fish. Others obtain most of their nourishment from endosymbiotic algae or dissolved nutrients. Predators of cnidarians include: sea slugs , flatworms and comb jellies , which can incorporate nematocysts into their own bodies for self-defense (nematocysts used by cnidarian predators are referred to as kleptocnidae); starfish , notably
4320-515: The Sea of Marmara . This Hydrozoa -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cnidaria Cnidaria ( / n ɪ ˈ d ɛər i ə , n aɪ -/ nih- DAIR -ee-ə, NY - ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in fresh water and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish , hydroids , sea anemones , corals and some of
4440-465: The bilaterians . Stauromedusae, small sessile cnidarians with stalks and no medusa stage, have traditionally been classified as members of the Scyphozoa, but recent research suggests they should be regarded as a separate class, Staurozoa. The Myxozoa , microscopic parasites , were first classified as protozoans . Research then found that Polypodium hydriforme , a non-Myxozoan parasite within
4560-451: The corals Hetroxenia and Leptogorgia , depend almost completely on their endosymbionts and on absorbing dissolved nutrients. Cnidaria give their symbiotic algae carbon dioxide , some nutrients, and protection against predators. Predatory species use their cnidocytes to poison or entangle prey, and those with venomous nematocysts may start digestion by injecting digestive enzymes . The "smell" of fluids from wounded prey makes
4680-517: The crown group of cnidarians, estimated around 741 million years ago , almost 200 million years before the Cambrian period, as well as before any fossils. Recent phylogenetic analyses support monophyly of cnidarians, as well as the position of cnidarians as the sister group of bilaterians . The term cnidaria derives from the Ancient Greek word knídē ( κνίδη “nettle”), signifying
4800-677: The crown of thorns starfish , which can devastate corals; butterfly fish and parrot fish , which eat corals; and marine turtles , which eat jellyfish. Some sea anemones and jellyfish have a symbiotic relationship with some fish; for example clownfish live among the tentacles of sea anemones, and each partner protects the other against predators. Ctenophore Ctenophora ( / t ə ˈ n ɒ f ər ə / tə- NOF -ər-ə ; sg. : ctenophore / ˈ t ɛ n ə f ɔːr , ˈ t iː n ə -/ TEN -ə-for, TEE -nə- ; from Ancient Greek κτείς (kteis) 'comb' and φέρω (pherō) 'to carry') comprise
4920-403: The cydippid Pleurobrachia . Since the body of many species is almost radially symmetrical , the main axis is oral to aboral (from the mouth to the opposite end). However, since only two of the canals near the statocyst terminate in anal pores, ctenophores have no mirror-symmetry, although many have rotational symmetry. In other words, if the animal rotates in a half-circle it looks
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5040-432: The medusae . These "nettle cells" function as harpoons , since their payloads remain connected to the bodies of the cells by threads. Three types of cnidocytes are known: The main components of a cnidocyte are: It is difficult to study the firing mechanisms of cnidocytes as these structures are small but very complex. At least four hypotheses have been proposed: Cnidocytes can only fire once, and about 25% of
5160-511: The phase of the moon . Many species of Cnidaria may spawn simultaneously in the same location, so that there are too many ova and sperm for predators to eat more than a tiny percentage — one famous example is the Great Barrier Reef , where at least 110 corals and a few non-cnidarian invertebrates produce enough gametes to turn the water cloudy. These mass spawnings may produce hybrids , some of which can settle and form polyps, but it
5280-509: The polyp and medusa forms, or of zooids within colonial organisms like those in Hydrozoa . In Hydrozoans , colonial individuals arising from individual zooids will take on separate tasks. For example, in Obelia there are feeding individuals, the gastrozooids ; the individuals capable of asexual reproduction only, the gonozooids, blastostyles and free-living or sexually reproducing individuals,
5400-400: The striated muscle . The wriggling motion is produced by smooth muscles , but of a highly specialized type. Coiling around prey is accomplished largely by the return of the tentilla to their inactive state, but the coils may be tightened by smooth muscle. There are eight rows of combs that run from near the mouth to the opposite end, and are spaced evenly round the body. The "combs" beat in
5520-697: The Greek suffix -φορος meaning "carrying". For a phylum with relatively few species, ctenophores have a wide range of body plans. Coastal species need to be tough enough to withstand waves and swirling sediment particles, while some oceanic species are so fragile that it is very difficult to capture them intact for study. In addition, oceanic species do not preserve well, and are known mainly from photographs and from observers' notes. Hence most attention has until recently concentrated on three coastal genera – Pleurobrachia , Beroe and Mnemiopsis . At least two textbooks base their descriptions of ctenophores on
5640-553: The adults of small crustaceans ; the exceptions are juveniles of two species, which live as parasites on the salps on which adults of their species feed. Despite their soft, gelatinous bodies, fossils thought to represent ctenophores appear in Lagerstätten dating as far back as the early Cambrian , about 525 million years ago. The position of the ctenophores in the "tree of life" has long been debated in molecular phylogenetics studies. Biologists proposed that ctenophores constitute
5760-676: The adults, lack both tentacles and tentacle sheaths. In some groups, such as the flat, bottom-dwelling platyctenids, the juveniles behave more like true larvae. They live among the plankton and thus occupy a different ecological niche from their parents, only attaining the adult form by a more radical ontogeny after dropping to the sea-floor. At least in some species, juvenile ctenophores appear capable of producing small quantities of eggs and sperm while they are well below adult size, and adults produce eggs and sperm for as long as they have sufficient food. If they run short of food, they first stop producing eggs and sperm, and then shrink in size. When
5880-431: The animal's buoyancy by pumping water into or out of the mesoglea. The outer surface bears usually eight comb rows, called swimming-plates, which are used for swimming. The rows are oriented to run from near the mouth (the "oral pole") to the opposite end (the "aboral pole"), and are spaced more or less evenly around the body, although spacing patterns vary by species and in most species the comb rows extend only part of
6000-415: The animal's "mood", in other words, the overall state of the nervous system. For example, if a ctenophore with trailing tentacles captures prey, it will often put some comb rows into reverse, spinning the mouth towards the prey. Research supports the hypothesis that the ciliated larvae in cnidarians and bilaterians share an ancient and common origin. The larvae's apical organ is involved in the formation of
6120-466: The animals. Among animal phyla, the Ctenophores are more complex than sponges , about as complex as cnidarians ( jellyfish , sea anemones , etc.), and less complex than bilaterians (which include almost all other animals). Unlike sponges, both ctenophores and cnidarians have: Ctenophores are distinguished from all other animals by having colloblasts , which are sticky and adhere to prey, although
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#17328693573676240-415: The beating of their comb-rows. There are two known species, with worldwide distribution in warm, and warm-temperate waters: Cestum veneris (" Venus ' girdle") is among the largest ctenophores – up to 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) long, and can undulate slowly or quite rapidly. Velamen parallelum , which is typically less than 20 centimeters (0.66 ft) long, can move much faster in what has been described as
6360-443: The bell and possibly by using two short tentacles. The Cestida ("belt animals") are ribbon-shaped planktonic animals, with the mouth and aboral organ aligned in the middle of opposite edges of the ribbon. There is a pair of comb-rows along each aboral edge, and tentilla emerging from a groove all along the oral edge, which stream back across most of the wing-like body surface. Cestids can swim by undulating their bodies as well as by
6480-597: The body surfaces of other invertebrates, and are often revealed by their long tentacles with many side branches, seen streaming off the back of the ctenophore into the current. Adults of most species can regenerate tissues that are damaged or removed, although only platyctenids reproduce by cloning , splitting off from the edges of their flat bodies fragments that develop into new individuals. Lab research on Mnemiopsis leidyi also show that when two individuals have parts of their bodies removed, they are able to fuse together, including their nervous and digestive systems, even when
6600-412: The body; and interstitial cells, which can transform into other types of cell. In specialized parts of the body, the outer layer also contains colloblasts , found along the surface of tentacles and used in capturing prey, or cells bearing multiple large cilia, for locomotion. The inner layer of the epidermis contains a nerve net , and myoepithelial cells that act as muscles . The internal cavity forms:
6720-441: The cilia on their comb rows for propulsion, although Leucothea has long and active auricles whose movements also contribute to propulsion. Members of the lobate genera Bathocyroe and Ocyropsis can escape from danger by clapping their lobes, so that the jet of expelled water drives them back very quickly. Unlike cydippids, the movements of lobates' combs are coordinated by nerves rather than by water disturbances created by
6840-452: The cilia, yet combs on the same row beat in the same Mexican wave style as the mechanically coordinated comb rows of cydippids and beroids. This may have enabled lobates to grow larger than cydippids and to have less egg-like shapes. An unusual species first described in 2000, Lobatolampea tetragona , has been classified as a lobate, although the lobes are "primitive" and the body is medusa -like when floating and disk-like when resting on
6960-844: The coiled thread reminiscent of cnidocytes. The word was first coined in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Peter Simon Pallas . Cnidarians form a phylum of animals that are more complex than sponges , about as complex as ctenophores (comb jellies), and less complex than bilaterians , which include almost all other animals. Both cnidarians and ctenophores are more complex than sponges as they have: cells bound by inter-cell connections and carpet-like basement membranes ; muscles ; nervous systems ; and some have sensory organs. Cnidarians are distinguished from all other animals by having cnidocytes that fire harpoon -like structures that are mainly used to capture prey. In some species, cnidocytes can also be used as anchors. Cnidarians are also distinguished by
7080-409: The common coastal "sea gooseberry", Pleurobrachia , sometimes has an egg-shaped body with the mouth at the narrow end, although some individuals are more uniformly round. From opposite sides of the body extends a pair of long, slender tentacles, each housed in a sheath into which it can be withdrawn. Some species of cydippids have bodies that are flattened to various extents so that they are wider in
7200-505: The connecting tunnels, so that gastroderm cells can absorb the nutrients. Absorption may take a few hours, and digestion within the cells may take a few days. The circulation of nutrients is driven by water currents produced by cilia in the gastroderm or by muscular movements or both, so that nutrients reach all parts of the digestive cavity. Nutrients reach the outer cell layer by diffusion or, for animals or zooids such as medusae which have thick mesogleas , are transported by mobile cells in
7320-479: The cydippid genus Pleurobrachia , are incapable of bioluminescence. When some species, including Bathyctena chuni , Euplokamis stationis and Eurhamphaea vexilligera , are disturbed, they produce secretions (ink) that luminesce at much the same wavelengths as their bodies. Juveniles will luminesce more brightly in relation to their body size than adults, whose luminescence is diffused over their bodies. Detailed statistical investigation has not suggested
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#17328693573677440-460: The deep ocean, where they are recorded at depths of seventy to two thousand metres. Interactions with humans are few as this species primarily occurs at great depth. Although it has been found that hydrozoans have increased in numbers in recent years, the increase in Liriope tetraphylla , a species of Trachymedusae, does not appear to be affecting the total zoo-plankton populations they prey upon within
7560-458: The deep-sea genus Bathocyroe is red, which hides the bioluminescence of copepods it has swallowed. The comb rows of most planktonic ctenophores produce a rainbow effect, which is not caused by bioluminescence but by the scattering of light as the combs move. Most species are also bioluminescent, but the light is usually blue or green and can only be seen in darkness. However some significant groups, including all known platyctenids and
7680-420: The digestive cavity then acts as a hydrostatic skeleton , rather like a water-filled balloon. Other polyps such as Tubularia use columns of water-filled cells for support. Sea pens stiffen the mesoglea with calcium carbonate spicules and tough fibrous proteins , rather like sponges . In some colonial polyps, a chitinous epidermis gives support and some protection to the connecting sections and to
7800-440: The digestive cavity without opening the mouth. This improves respiration after feeding and allows these animals, which use the cavity as a hydrostatic skeleton , to control the water pressure in the cavity without expelling undigested food. Cnidaria that carry photosynthetic symbionts may have the opposite problem, an excess of oxygen, which may prove toxic . The animals produce large quantities of antioxidants to neutralize
7920-418: The distance from the aboral pole towards the mouth. The "combs" (also called "ctenes" or "comb plates") run across each row, and each consists of thousands of unusually long cilia, up to 2 millimeters (0.08 in). Unlike conventional cilia and flagella, which has a filament structure arranged in a 9 + 2 pattern, these cilia are arranged in a 9 + 3 pattern, where the extra compact filament is suspected to have
8040-620: The egg cells of sturgeon , is closely related to the Myxozoa and suggested that both Polypodium and the Myxozoa were intermediate between cnidarians and bilaterian animals. More recent research demonstrates that the previous identification of bilaterian genes reflected contamination of the Myxozoan samples by material from their host organism, and they are now firmly identified as heavily derived cnidarians, and more closely related to Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa than to Anthozoa. Some researchers classify
8160-451: The eight comb rows. In the genome of Mnemiopsis leidyi ten genes encode photoproteins. These genes are co-expressed with opsin genes in the developing photocytes of Mnemiopsis leidyi , raising the possibility that light production and light detection may be working together in these animals. Ctenophores are found in most marine environments: from polar waters at −2 °C to the tropics at 30 °C; near coasts and in mid-ocean; from
8280-556: The excess oxygen. All cnidarians can regenerate , allowing them to recover from injury and to reproduce asexually . Medusae have limited ability to regenerate, but polyps can do so from small pieces or even collections of separated cells. This enables corals to recover even after apparently being destroyed by predators. Cnidarian sexual reproduction often involves a complex life cycle with both polyp and medusa stages. For example, in Scyphozoa (jellyfish) and Cubozoa (box jellies)
8400-580: The extinct conulariids as cnidarians, while others propose that they form a completely separate phylum . Current classification according to the World Register of Marine Species : Many cnidarians are limited to shallow waters because they depend on endosymbiotic algae for much of their nutrients. The life cycles of most have polyp stages, which are limited to locations that offer stable substrates. Nevertheless, major cnidarian groups contain species that have escaped these limitations. Hydrozoans have
8520-454: The eyes probably do not form images, Cubozoa can clearly distinguish the direction from which light is coming as well as negotiate around solid-colored objects. Cnidarians feed in several ways: predation , absorbing dissolved organic chemicals, filtering food particles out of the water, obtaining nutrients from symbiotic algae within their cells, and parasitism. Most obtain the majority of their food from predation but some, including
8640-543: The fact that they have only one opening in their body for ingestion and excretion i.e. they do not have a separate mouth and anus. Like sponges and ctenophores, cnidarians have two main layers of cells that sandwich a middle layer of jelly-like material, which is called the mesoglea in cnidarians; more complex animals have three main cell layers and no intermediate jelly-like layer. Hence, cnidarians and ctenophores have traditionally been labelled diploblastic , along with sponges. However, both cnidarians and ctenophores have
8760-500: The food supply improves, they grow back to normal size and then resume reproduction. These features make ctenophores capable of increasing their populations very quickly. Members of the Lobata and Cydippida also have a reproduction form called dissogeny; two sexually mature stages, first as larva and later as juveniles and adults. During their time as larva they are capable of releasing gametes periodically. After their first reproductive period
8880-647: The freshwater cnidarians as well as many marine forms, and which has both sessile members, such as Hydra , and colonial swimmers (such as the Portuguese man o' war )). Staurozoa have recently been recognised as a class in their own right rather than a sub-group of Scyphozoa, and the highly derived parasitic Myxozoa and Polypodiozoa were firmly recognized as cnidarians only in 2007. Most cnidarians prey on organisms ranging in size from plankton to animals several times larger than themselves, but many obtain much of their nutrition from symbiotic dinoflagellates , and
9000-420: The function of ctenophores' bioluminescence nor produced any correlation between its exact color and any aspect of the animals' environments, such as depth or whether they live in coastal or mid-ocean waters. In ctenophores, bioluminescence is caused by the activation of calcium-activated proteins named photoproteins in cells called photocytes , which are often confined to the meridional canals that underlie
9120-447: The genus Haeckelia , which feed mainly on jellyfish , incorporate their victims' stinging nematocytes into their own tentacles – some cnidaria-eating nudibranchs similarly incorporate nematocytes into their bodies for defense. The tentilla of Euplokamis differ significantly from those of other cydippids: they contain striated muscle , a cell type otherwise unknown in the phylum Ctenophora; and they are coiled when relaxed, while
9240-424: The genus Mnemiopsis , and it is thought that most of the hermaphroditic species are self-fertile. Development of the fertilized eggs is direct; there is no distinctive larval form. Juveniles of all groups are generally planktonic , and most species resemble miniature adult cydippids, gradually developing their adult body forms as they grow. In the genus Beroe , however, the juveniles have large mouths and, like
9360-420: The genus Ocyropsis and Bathocyroe fosteri in the genus Bathocyroe . The gonads are located in the parts of the internal canal network under the comb rows, and eggs and sperm are released via pores in the epidermis. Fertilization is generally external , but platyctenids use internal fertilization and keep the eggs in brood chambers until they hatch. Self-fertilization has occasionally been seen in species of
9480-435: The involvement of sexual reproduction process, was observed in both Hydrozoa ( Turritopsis dohrnii and Laodicea undulata ) and Scyphozoa ( Aurelia sp.1 ). Anthozoa have no medusa stage at all and the polyps are responsible for sexual reproduction. Spawning is generally driven by environmental factors such as changes in the water temperature, and their release is triggered by lighting conditions such as sunrise, sunset or
9600-482: The largest non-colonial animals that use cilia as their main method of locomotion. Most species have eight strips, called comb rows, that run the length of their bodies and bear comb-like bands of cilia, called "ctenes", stacked along the comb rows so that when the cilia beat, those of each comb touch the comb below. The name "ctenophora" means "comb-bearing", from the Greek κτείς (stem-form κτεν- ) meaning "comb" and
9720-407: The layers. The layer that faces outwards, known as the ectoderm ("outside skin"), generally contains the following types of cells: In addition to epitheliomuscular, nerve and interstitial cells, the inward-facing gastroderm ("stomach skin") contains gland cells that secrete digestive enzymes . In some species it also contains low concentrations of cnidocytes, which are used to subdue prey that
9840-556: The lower parts of individual polyps. A few polyps collect materials such as sand grains and shell fragments, which they attach to their outsides. Some colonial sea anemones stiffen the mesoglea with sediment particles. A mineralized exoskeleton made of calcium carbonate is found in subphylum Anthozoa in the order Scleractinia (stony corals; class Hexacorallia) and the class Octocorallia , and in subphylum Medusozoa in three hydrozoan families in order Anthoathecata ; Milleporidae , Stylasteridae and Hydractiniidae (the latter with
9960-631: The margin of the bell that work together to control the motor nerve net, that directly innervates the swimming muscles. Most cnidarians also have a parallel system. In scyphozoans, this takes the form of a diffuse nerve net, which has modulatory effects on the nervous system. As well as forming the "signal cables" between sensory neurons and motoneurons, intermediate neurons in the nerve net can also form ganglia that act as local coordination centers. Communication between nerve cells can occur by chemical synapses or gap junctions in hydrozoans, though gap junctions are not present in all groups. Cnidarians have many of
10080-645: The medusae of some hydrozoans can divide down the middle. Scyphozoan polyps can both bud and split down the middle. In addition to both of these methods, Anthozoa can split horizontally just above the base. Asexual reproduction makes the daughter cnidarian a clone of the adult. The ability of Cnidarians to asexually reproduce ensures a greater number of mature medusa that can mature to reproduce sexually. Two classical DNA repair pathways, nucleotide excision repair and base excision repair , are present in hydra , and these repair pathways facilitate unhindered reproduction. The identification of these pathways in hydra
10200-580: The mesoglea. Indigestible remains of prey are expelled through the mouth. The main waste product of cells' internal processes is ammonia , which is removed by the external and internal water currents. There are no respiratory organs, and both cell layers absorb oxygen from and expel carbon dioxide into the surrounding water. When the water in the digestive cavity becomes stale it must be replaced, and nutrients that have not been absorbed will be expelled with it. Some Anthozoa have ciliated grooves on their tentacles, allowing them to pump water out of and into
10320-416: The mouth "lips" in some species of Beroe , is a pair of narrow strips of adhesive epithelial cells on the stomach wall that "zip" the mouth shut when the animal is not feeding, by forming intercellular connections with the opposite adhesive strip. This tight closure streamlines the front of the animal when it is pursuing prey. The Ganeshida has a pair of small oral lobes and a pair of tentacles. The body
10440-577: The mouth – two of these four branches terminate in anal pores. The inner surface of the cavity is lined with an epithelium , the gastrodermis . The mouth and pharynx have both cilia and well-developed muscles. In other parts of the canal system, the gastrodermis is different on the sides nearest to and furthest from the organ that it supplies. The nearer side is composed of tall nutritive cells that store nutrients in vacuoles (internal compartments), germ cells that produce eggs or sperm, and photocytes that produce bioluminescence . The side furthest from
10560-411: The mouth. This combination of structures enables lobates to feed continuously on suspended planktonic prey. Lobates have eight comb-rows, originating at the aboral pole and usually not extending beyond the body to the lobes; in species with (four) auricles, the cilia edging the auricles are extensions of cilia in four of the comb rows. Most lobates are quite passive when moving through the water, using
10680-447: The movements of internal mineral grains called statoliths. If the body tilts in the wrong direction, the animal rights itself by increasing the strength of the swimming movements on the side that is too low. Most species have ocelli ("simple eyes"), which can detect sources of light. However, the agile box jellyfish are unique among Medusae because they possess four kinds of true eyes that have retinas , corneas and lenses . Although
10800-678: The nervous system genes is the smallest known of any animal, and could represent the minimum genetic requirements for a functional nervous system. The fact that portions of the nervous system feature directly fused neurons, without synapses, suggests that ctenophores might form a sister group to other metazoans, having developed a nervous system independently. If ctenophores are the sister group to all other metazoans, nervous systems may have either been lost in sponges and placozoans, or arisen more than once among metazoans. Cydippid ctenophores have bodies that are more or less rounded, sometimes nearly spherical and other times more cylindrical or egg-shaped;
10920-518: The nervous system. The aboral organ of comb jellies is not homologous with the apical organ in other animals, and the formation of their nervous system has therefore a different embryonic origin. Ctenophore nerve cells and nervous system have different biochemistry as compared to other animals. For instance, they lack the genes and enzymes required to manufacture neurotransmitters like serotonin , dopamine , nitric oxide , octopamine , noradrenaline , and others, otherwise seen in all other animals with
11040-420: The neurons are found to have synaptic connections , but the neurons in the nerve net are highly distinctive by being fused into a syncytium , rather than being connected by synapses. Some animals outside ctenophores also have fused nerve cells, but never to such a degree that they form a whole nerve net. Fossils shows that Cambrian species had a more complex nervous system, with long nerves which connected with
11160-430: The nutritive cells. The ciliary rosettes in the canals may help to transport nutrients to muscles in the mesoglea. The anal pores may eject unwanted small particles, but most unwanted matter is regurgitated via the mouth. Little is known about how ctenophores get rid of waste products produced by the cells. The ciliary rosettes in the gastrodermis may help to remove wastes from the mesoglea, and may also help to adjust
11280-611: The only animals that can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Cnidarians mostly have two basic body forms: swimming medusae and sessile polyps , both of which are radially symmetrical with mouths surrounded by tentacles that bear cnidocytes, which are specialized stinging cells used to capture prey. Both forms have a single orifice and body cavity that are used for digestion and respiration . Many cnidarian species produce colonies that are single organisms composed of medusa-like or polyp-like zooids , or both (hence they are trimorphic ). Cnidarians' activities are coordinated by
11400-415: The organ is covered with ciliated cells that circulate water through the canals, punctuated by ciliary rosettes, pores that are surrounded by double whorls of cilia and connect to the mesoglea. When prey is swallowed, it is liquefied in the pharynx by enzymes and by muscular contractions of the pharynx. The resulting slurry is wafted through the canal system by the beating of the cilia , and digested by
11520-486: The parents are immobile, these feeding capabilities extend the larvae's range and avoid overcrowding of sites. Scyphozoan and hydrozoan larvae have little yolk and most lack endosymbiotic algae, and therefore have to settle quickly and metamorphose into polyps. Instead, these species rely on their medusae to extend their ranges. All known cnidaria can reproduce asexually by various means, in addition to regenerating after being fragmented. Hydrozoan polyps only bud, while
11640-435: The plane of the tentacles. The tentacles of cydippid ctenophores are typically fringed with tentilla ("little tentacles"), although a few genera have simple tentacles without these side branches. The tentacles and tentilla are densely covered with microscopic colloblasts that capture prey by sticking to it. Colloblasts are specialized mushroom -shaped cells in the outer layer of the epidermis, and have three main components:
11760-529: The polyp or the medusa stage, and the parasitic classes evolved to have neither form. Cnidarians were formerly grouped with ctenophores , also known as comb jellies, in the phylum Coelenterata , but increasing awareness of their differences caused them to be placed in separate phyla. Cnidarians are classified into four main groups: the almost wholly sessile Anthozoa ( sea anemones , corals , sea pens ); swimming Scyphozoa ( jellyfish ); Cubozoa (box jellies); and Hydrozoa (a diverse group that includes all
11880-450: The polyp stage completely, and cubozoan polyps produce only one medusa. Hydrozoa have a variety of life cycles. Some have no polyp stages and some (e.g. hydra ) have no medusae. In some species, the medusae remain attached to the polyp and are responsible for sexual reproduction; in extreme cases these reproductive zooids may not look much like medusae. Meanwhile, life cycle reversal, in which polyps are formed directly from medusae without
12000-526: The power stroke of the comb plate cilia. It is uncertain how ctenophores control their buoyancy, but experiments have shown that some species rely on osmotic pressure to adapt to the water of different densities. Their body fluids are normally as concentrated as seawater. If they enter less dense brackish water, the ciliary rosettes in the body cavity may pump this into the mesoglea to increase its bulk and decrease its density, to avoid sinking. Conversely, if they move from brackish to full-strength seawater,
12120-503: The presence of specific ctenophore genes that were markedly different from those of other species. Follow up analysis by Whelan et al. (2017) yielded further support for the 'Ctenophora sister' hypothesis; the issue remains a matter of taxonomic dispute. Schultz et al. (2023) found irreversible changes in synteny in the sister of the Ctenophora, the Myriazoa , consisting of the rest of
12240-407: The radial canals number from 4 to 6 to 8 and more than 8, though 8 is the most common amount found. The sensory clubs can be open or closed with the endodermal axis. The gonads are generally located at the radial canal or where the radial canal and the manubrium connect. The cnidome may have stenoteles. Trachymedusae reproduce sexually during the medusae stage lacking a polyp stage. Primarily found in
12360-1273: The rest of the group requires a weaker minimum stimulus than the cells that fire first. Medusae swim by a form of jet propulsion: muscles, especially inside the rim of the bell, squeeze water out of the cavity inside the bell, and the springiness of the mesoglea powers the recovery stroke. Since the tissue layers are very thin, they provide too little power to swim against currents and just enough to control movement within currents. Hydras and some sea anemones can move slowly over rocks and sea or stream beds by various means: creeping like snails, crawling like inchworms , or by somersaulting . A few can swim clumsily by waggling their bases. Cnidarians are generally thought to have no brains or even central nervous systems. However, they do have integrative areas of neural tissue that could be considered some form of centralization. Most of their bodies are innervated by decentralized nerve nets that control their swimming musculature and connect with sensory structures, though each clade has slightly different structures. These sensory structures, usually called rhopalia, can generate signals in response to various types of stimuli such as light, pressure, chemical changes, and much more. Medusa usually have several of them around
12480-472: The rosettes may pump water out of the mesoglea to reduce its volume and increase its density. Ctenophores have no brain or central nervous system , but instead have a subepidermal nerve net (rather like a cobweb) that forms a ring round the mouth and is densest near structures such as the comb rows, pharynx, tentacles (if present) and the sensory complex furthest from the mouth. The communication between nerve cells make use of two different methods; some of
12600-447: The same as when it started. The Ctenophore phylum has a wide range of body forms, including the flattened, deep-sea platyctenids , in which the adults of most species lack combs, and the coastal beroids , which lack tentacles and prey on other ctenophores by using huge mouths armed with groups of large, stiffened cilia that act as teeth. Like those of cnidarians , ( jellyfish , sea anemones , etc.), ctenophores' bodies consist of
12720-586: The same neurotransmitters as bilaterians, including chemicals such as glutamate, GABA, and glycine. Serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, octopamine, histamine, and acetylcholine, on the other hand, are absent. This structure ensures that the musculature is excited rapidly and simultaneously, and can be directly stimulated from any point on the body, and it also is better able to recover after injury. Medusae and complex swimming colonies such as siphonophores and chondrophores sense tilt and acceleration by means of statocysts , chambers lined with hairs which detect
12840-513: The same species is also able to revert back to the cydippid stage when triggered by environmental stressors. Most ctenophores that live near the surface are mostly colorless and almost transparent. However some deeper-living species are strongly pigmented, for example the species known as "Tortugas red" (see illustration here), which has not yet been formally described. Platyctenids generally live attached to other sea-bottom organisms, and often have similar colors to these host organisms. The gut of
12960-411: The sea-bed. The Beroida , also known as Nuda , have no feeding appendages, but their large pharynx , just inside the large mouth and filling most of the saclike body, bears "macrocilia" at the oral end. These fused bundles of several thousand large cilia are able to "bite" off pieces of prey that are too large to swallow whole – almost always other ctenophores. In front of the field of macrocilia, on
13080-453: The second-earliest branching animal lineage, with sponges being the sister-group to all other multicellular animals ( Porifera sister hypothesis ). Other biologists contend that ctenophores emerged earlier than sponges ( Ctenophora sister hypothesis ), which themselves appeared before the split between cnidarians and bilaterians . Pisani et al . reanalyzed the data and suggested that the computer algorithms used for analysis were misled by
13200-464: The smallest marine parasites . Their distinguishing features are a decentralized nervous system distributed throughout a gelatinous body and the presence of cnidocytes or cnidoblasts, specialized cells with ejectable flagella used mainly for envenomation and capturing prey . Their bodies consist of mesoglea , a non-living, jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick. Cnidarians are also some of
13320-473: The summer months in some coastal locations, but in other places, they are uncommon and difficult to find. In bays where they occur in very high numbers, predation by ctenophores may control the populations of small zooplanktonic organisms such as copepods , which might otherwise wipe out the phytoplankton (planktonic plants), which are a vital part of marine food chains . Almost all ctenophores are predators – there are no vegetarians and only one genus that
13440-499: The surface waters to the ocean depths at more than 7000 meters. The best-understood are the genera Pleurobrachia , Beroe and Mnemiopsis , as these planktonic coastal forms are among the most likely to be collected near shore. No ctenophores have been found in fresh water. In 2013 Mnemiopsis was recorded in lake Birket Qarun, and in 2014 in lake El Rayan II, both near Faiyum in Egypt, where they were accidentally introduced by
13560-452: The tentacles and oral arms often have rows of cilia whose beating creates currents that flow towards the mouth, and some produce nets of mucus to trap particles. Their digestion is both intra and extracellular. Once the food is in the digestive cavity, gland cells in the gastroderm release enzymes that reduce the prey to slurry, usually within a few hours. This circulates through the digestive cavity and, in colonial cnidarians, through
13680-673: The tentacles fold inwards and wipe the prey off into the mouth. In medusae, the tentacles around the edge of the bell are often short and most of the prey capture is done by "oral arms", which are extensions of the edge of the mouth and are often frilled and sometimes branched to increase their surface area. These "oral arms" aid in Cnidarians ability to move prey towards their mouth once it has been poisoned and entangled. Medusae often trap prey or suspended food particles by swimming upwards, spreading their tentacles and oral arms and then sinking. In species for which suspended food particles are important,
13800-400: The tentilla of all other known ctenophores elongate when relaxed. Euplokamis ' tentilla have three types of movement that are used in capturing prey: they may flick out very quickly (in 40 to 60 milliseconds ); they can wriggle, which may lure prey by behaving like small planktonic worms; and they coil round prey. The unique flicking is an uncoiling movement powered by contraction of
13920-399: The transport of fish (mullet) fry. Though many species prefer brackish waters like estuaries and coastal lagoons in open connection with the sea, this was the first record from an inland environment. Both lakes are saline, with Birket Qarun being hypersaline, and shows that some ctenophores can establish themselves in saline limnic environments without connection to the ocean. In the long run it
14040-537: The two individuals are genetically different; a phenomenon that has so far only been found in comb jellies. The last common ancestor (LCA) of the ctenophores was hermaphroditic . Some are simultaneous hermaphrodites, which can produce both eggs and sperm at the same time, while others are sequential hermaphrodites, in which the eggs and sperm mature at different times. There is no metamorphosis . At least three species are known to have evolved separate sexes ( dioecy ); Ocyropsis crystallina and Ocyropsis maculata in
14160-487: The water in the breeding season. This phenomenon of succession of differently organized generations (one asexually reproducing, sessile polyp, followed by a free-swimming medusa or a sessile polyp that reproduces sexually) is sometimes called "alternation of asexual and sexual phases" or "metagenesis", but should not be confused with the alternation of generations as found in plants. Shortened forms of this life cycle are common, for example some oceanic scyphozoans omit
14280-542: The water using their tentacles as "webs", some are ambush predators like Salticid jumping spiders , and some dangle a sticky droplet at the end of a fine thread, as bolas spiders do. This variety explains the wide range of body forms in a phylum with rather few species. The two-tentacled "cydippid" Lampea feeds exclusively on salps , close relatives of sea-squirts that form large chain-like floating colonies, and juveniles of Lampea attach themselves like parasites to salps that are too large for them to swallow. Members of
14400-504: The yolk (at the animal pole ), while in bilaterians it forms at the other end ( vegetal pole ). The larvae, called planulae , swim or crawl by means of cilia . They are cigar-shaped but slightly broader at the "front" end, which is the aboral, vegetal-pole end and eventually attaches to a substrate if the species has a polyp stage. Anthozoan larvae either have large yolks or are capable of feeding on plankton , and some already have endosymbiotic algae that help to feed them. Since
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