Cnidaria is a large phylum composed of some of the most beautiful of all the salt and freshwater organisms: the true jellyfish, box jellyfish, coral and sea anemones, and hydra. Although Cnidaria is an incredibly diverse group of animals, there are several traits that link them together. Most cnidarians are dipoblastic, which means that they are composed of only two layers of cells. The outer layer is known as the ectoderm or epidermis, and the inner layer is known as the endoderm or gastrodermis
“Cnidarians” is Greek for “stinging nettle” (“Introduction to Cnidaria"). Phylum Cnidaria include freshwater hydra, jellyfish, and corals. Each of these invertebrates go through transitions in body forms. Jellyfish are the most unusual and complex out of the phylum. Jellyfish are in the class Scyphozoa, which means true jellyfish. Cnidarians are found in the Mediterranean and in the oceans. They can live in the ocean as well as coastal waters. But the primary habitat for Cnidarians are in the open
The world we live in today is full of an exceptional variety of animals. The time it took to conclude to the various sorts of species seen today has been throughout a period of millions of years. The vast majority of these animals are accredited to evolutionary advancements. When the environment changes, organisms have become accustomed to changing to fit their environment, to ensure their species does not die off. These physical changes have resulted in different phyla, ranging from basic structures
Coral reefs are systems of large, underwater structures that are composed of the mineralized bodies of corals. These corals are a class of marine invertebrates known as Anthozoans, and belong to the phylum Cnidaria, and are thus related to sea anemone and jellyfish. Each individual coral animal is only a few millimeters in diameter, and a few centimeters in length. Due to their sessile nature, and their ability to reproduce asexually, they are able to construct, over many generations, massive colonies
INTRODUCTION: The Animal Kingdom is generally believed to have originated in Archeozoic oceans long before the first fossil record. Every major phylum of animals has at least some marine representatives; some groups, such as cnidarians and echinoderms, are largely or entirely marine lives. From the ancestral marine environment, different groups of animals have invaded fresh water; some have moved onto land. There are over a million described species of animals. About 5% of this number are consists
This paper will look at the Medusozoa commonly known as the jellyfish. The jellyfish comes from the Cnidaria phyla. The jelly fish dates back over 500 million years and can be found in various different oceanic environments. And there are a few varieties that inhabit fresh water as well. Despite its name the jelly fish is not even a fish because it has no vertebrae. The medusozoa are broken up into four classes scyphomedusae ("true" jellyfish), stauromedusae (stalked jellyfish), cubomedusae
As time progresses, animals have become bigger and display more of a complex body. In some cases, this is not always true. The Poriferas and Cnidarians do not have a difficult structure like the Platyhelminthes. The body structures can determine a lot about how these animals survive in their environment, and it is important that their structure can manage their distribution of gases, and obtain food and waste. These facts and information will show proof of the many characteristics and bodily functions
The word “jellyfish” is often used to describe animals that are made of gelatinous materials. Some types of jellyfish sting (called medusae) and others do not (called a salp). When a huge amount of plants or animals show up suddenly, scientists call it a “bloom”. Jellyfish often bloom, which causes issues for fisheries and tourism. A common analogy used to describe the delicate way jellyfish pounce through the water likens the jelly’s movements to ‘a simple form of jet propulsion’. Jellyfish have
Jellyfish, of the Phylum Cnidaria, are an interesting and well developed species. Although they are invertebrates, they are similar to human beings in that they contain an intricate central nervous system that enables them a common perception of their environment. It is understood that several species of jellyfish utilize their nerve net in order to respond to common features of their aquatic habitat, such as: depth of water, light, sound and temperature. They use utilize information from these environmental
Dangerous Animals of the Great Barrier Reef According to Dennis Fulkerson, one of the Australia Explorers (1996), the Great Barrier Reef is "God's underwater playground." Indeed, everyone in the group seemed to have a fabulous time exploring the reef. However, many of the group expressed some amount of fear about snorkelling on the reef, far away from the mainland. I began to wonder if there was really that much to be afraid of. We were only told that it was not box jellyfish season, and, more
discussed, including the possible action of these toxins at a cellular level. Finally, first aid and treatments for jellyfish envenomations will be described. Background The marine creatures commonly known as jellyfish are members of the phylum Cnidaria. Of the four classes of cnidarians, jellyfish come from both the Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa classes. Most jellyfish are schphozoids, while the Portuguese Man-of-War (Physalia physalis) is a hydroid. As cnidarians, jellyfish possess two tissue types:
Cnidarians are a phylum of aquatic organisms that include jellyfish, corals, hydroids, and anemones. They are an ancient group of animals that are thought to have emerged more that 500 million years ago. They are characterized by their radial symmetry, their diploblastic bodies, and specialized cells called cnidocytes. Cnidarians are represented as either polyps or medusae. Sea anemones and corals are consistently found as polyps, and jellyfish have a polyp stage early in their development. These
The seahorse is a small species of vertebrate that is found in the tropical shallows and temperate waters around the world. The seahorse's scientific genus name, Hippocampus which is derived from the Greek hippokampus (hippos, meaning “horse,” and kampos, meaning “sea monster”) Seahorses are fish. They live in water, breath through gills and have a swim bladder. Seahorses are elongate with rigid body armor and swim upright. Pectoral fins on the sides and a small dorsal fin on the back of a seahorse's
Copepods – Culture and Biology Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are like plankton (drifting in seawater), some are living on the ocean floor and some particular species may live in still-water habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ponds, and puddles, damp moss, or phytotelmata of plants. Copepods form a subclass belonging to the subphylum Crustacea. They
The Great Barrier Reef is such a large space that it is the only living thing the unaided eye can see from outer space. It is the world’s largest living structure and is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is a place that helps to provide the world with food, shelter, and support. This world wonder is headed towards extinction and so is humanity. The Great Barrier Reef is home to billions of colorful corals, sponges, fish, and “supports a quarter of all marine
The platypus is among the nature´s most unlikely animals. Its scientific name is Ornithorhynchus anatinus, which in Greek means “duck-like”. The body and the tail of this mammal are covered with waterproof, thick, brown fur which works to trap air and keep itself warm. It has webbed feet and a snout, which are characteristics that can also be found in a duck, thus many people relate them. One of the rare characteristics that this animal has is that its webbing, found in the front feet more significantly
The ‘Purple Shore Crab’ (Hemigrapsus nudus) is a tiny crustacean that inhabits the mid to low zone of the Rocky shore. This location is an intertidal zone, meaning that the organism lives in a very harsh environment. These crabs, as the name suggests, are purple in colour, with reddish-purple spots on their claws. They are known as decapods, because they have 10 legs (the first pair is modified into claws), and unlike many other crab species they do not have hairs on these legs. Crabs are invertebrates
Parrotfishes are the common name for members of the large fish family Scaridae, which live in coral reef ecosystems throughout the Caribbean as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. They vary in color and pattern between males, females and juveniles, with each going through a variety of color changes as they mature (Polychromatism). (Jamaica Environment Trust, 2013) “There are about eighty identified species, ranging in size from less than one to four feet in length.” (National Geographic Society
Bioluminescence is the production of light from an organism by a chemical reaction. (all authors) It is utilized by terrestrial and marine organisms, for predatorial, attractive, protective, communicative, and identification advantages. (first one) The cookie-cutter shark utilizes an illuminated underside to attract prey. (first) Bioluminescence can create a strong flash of light for protection against a predator. Bioluminescence is a primarily marine phenomenon. In contrast, bioluminescence is essentially
Underwater Tourism By: Ka Wai Cheung Professor Singh HRT 415 07/18/2016 There are about 70% of our earth is covered by water, and people just know a little part of it now. Underwater tourism is an excitement and adventure, and it is also a special tourism concept. The undersea world attracts people to explore the mysterious of the ocean, and the underwater tourism is growing very fast basic on the new technology. Travelers can join this tourism by many different methods, such