CNIDARIAN VOCABULARY
The Body Wall and Nematocysts
EpidermisGastrodermisMesogleaCnidocytesNematocystsCnida |
The outer layer of the body wall.
The endodermally derived lining of the gastrovascular cavity.
A gel like matrix between the epidermis and gastrodermis.
The cells that produce and discharge the cnidae.
Type of cnida used in food gathering and defense that may discharge a large tube armed with spines that penetrates the prey.
An organelle characteristic of the Cnidaria that is used in defense, food gathering, and attachment.
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Alternation of Generations
PolypMedusa |
The attached, usually asexual, stage of Cnidarian.
Usually, the sexual stage of the life cycle in Cnidarian (the jellyfish body form).
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Maintenance Functions
Gastrovascular CavityHydrostatic Skeleton |
The cavity that functions digestion, the exchange of respiratory gases and metabolic waste, and the discharge of gametes.
Water or body fluids confine in a cavity of the body against which contractile elements of the body wall act.
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Reproduction
Planula |
A ciliated, free-swimming larva that develops following sexual reproduction in metamorphoses into a polyp.
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Class Hydrozoa
GastrozooidGonozooidManubriumStatocyst |
A feeding polyp in a colonial hydrozoa.
A polyp of a hydrozoan Cnidarian that produces medusae.
A structure that hangs from the oral surface of a Cnidarian medusa and surrounds the mouth.
An organ that usually consist of a fluid filled cavity containing sensory hairs in a mineral mass called a statolith and is the organ of equilibrium and balanced in many invertebrates.
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Class Scyphozoa
RhopaliumScyphistomaEphyrae
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A sensory structure at the margin of the scyphozoan medusa and consists of a statocyst and a photoreceptor.
The polyp stage of a schyphozoan.
Miniature medusa produced by asexual reproduction.
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Class Anthozoa
Protandry |
The condition in a monoecious organism in which male gonads mature before female gametes to prevent self fertilization.
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** THESE WORDS AND DEFINITIONS COME FROM THE TEXTBOOK ON THE HOME SCREEN. THE HEADINGS USED ARE THE ONES IN THE BOOK THAT DIVIDE THE CHAPTER AND ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION. WE ARE NOT ZOOLOGY EXPERTS. USE WITH CAUTION**