CNIDARIANS: JELLYFISH AND CORAL ANIMALS
strawberry anemone: Corynactis californica
Animals like jellyfish and coral are included in Cnidarians. Cnidarians live mainly in salt water and can be found in two different stages: Polyps are...
...vase-shaped and often sessile, while medusae are bell-shaped and can swim freely. They all have tentacles, equipped with stinging cells to capture food. Cnidarians reproduce sexually and asexually. Medusae go through sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. For the sexual stage, egg and sperm are produced and released into the water, where the sperm fertilizes the egg. For asexual reproduction, a polyp will bud into a small medusa, which falls off and repeats the cycle. Polyps can only reproduce asexually by budding off into new polyps. Corals are another type of cnidarian that stays in the polyp stage. Coral reefs protect us from much of the action of waves and are home to many beautiful animals, some of which produce valuable shells and pearls. Interestingly enough, corals produce chemicals like sponges that could be used to fight cancer. Coral is also used to replace bone in humans.