THE PHYLUM COELENTERATES

Coral on the beach outside the body

frame maked from one type coelenterates.
Coelenterates (in Greek language, coelenteron =
cavity) are invertebrates that have body cavity.
Body cavity serves as a means of digestion (gastro
vascular). Coelenterates also called Cnidaria (in
language Greek, cnido = stinger) because
according to the characteristics which have
stinging cells located on the wasp tentacles. cell located around the mouth.
Coelenterates has a structure which is more complex. cell Coelenterates cells are
organized to form a network and coordinated by the nerve function is simple.

A. General characteristic
Coelenterates body characteristics include size, shape, structure,
and function of the body.
1. The Size and Shape of the Body
Coelenterates wide body size heterogeneous. That are the long few
millimeters, eg, Hydra and some reach a diameter of 2 m, for example
Cyanea. Coelenterates radials symmetrical with the form of a medusa or
polyp. Medusa shaped like a bell or umbrella, surrounded by "the arms"
(tentacles). Polyp shaped like a tube or an elongated like medusa.
2. Structure and function of body
Coelenterates are an animal diploblastic because his body has two
layers of cells, namely ectoderm (epidermis) and endoderm (inner layer or
gastrodermis). Ectoderm serves as a protective medium serves to digestion.
cell endoderm cells bordering gastrodermis coelenterons or gastrosol.
Gastrosol is shaped digestive pericardium. The foods into the gastrosol be
digested with the help of enzymes released by cells in the gastrosol
gastrodermis. Digestion called the digestive tract in gastrosol extracellular.
 Product be swallowed up by the cells gastrodermis to then further digested
in food vacuoles. Digestion in the cell gastrodermis called intracellular.
Food’s extract digestion and then circulated to other body parts are
diffusion. Like also for making oxygen and carbon dioxide disposal in
diffusion. Coelenterates has a simple nervous system that spread nets shaped
that serves to control movement in response to stimulation. Nervous system
found in mesoglea. Mesoglea is not a layer of cells contained between the
layers of the epidermis and gastrodermis. Gastrodermis composed of
gelatinous material. Coelenterates polyp-shaped body, consisting of the legs,
body, and surrounded by mouth. Mouth shaped tentacles. Coelenterates who
do not have the leg. Mouth medusa serves to swallow food and remove food
residue because Coelenterates not have anus. Tentacles serves to catch prey
and put food into the surface of the tentacles mouth. At cells are called
knidosit (knidosista) or knidoblas. The each knidosit contain stinging
capsules called nematocyst (nematocyst).

B. Classification of Coelenterates
Coelenterates divided into three classes based on the dominant
form in their life cycle, namely Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Anthozoa.
1. Hydrozoa
Hydrozoa (in Greek, hydro = water, zoa = animals), most have a
rotation of polyp and medusa in the life cycle. Hydrozoa can living solitary.
Example Hydrozoas are Hydra, Obelia, and Physalia. For Hydrozoa Obelia
is that his life has colonized in the sea. Obelia have polyp and medusa forms
in its life cycle.
a. Body Structure of Hydra
Hydra is cylindrical or tubular. When extended, it becomes
elongated and slender. Its size is 2 to 12 mm long. Its body symmetry is
radial along oral-aboral axis.
Its free end is produced into a conical hypostome, having a
circular aperture or mouth at its apex. Anus is absent. From the base of
 hypostome arises a circle of 6 to 10
slender, contractile tentacles. These help
in locomotion and food capturing. Body
of Hydra bears lateral buds near the free
end. The bud after full development
detaches from the parent body and forms
a new Hydra. Gonad (ovary) also appears
near the distal attached end of the body
and testes develop near free end.
The lower (aboral) end of the body is closed and flat, called
pedal disc. It is found attached with the substratum. Pedal disc bears
gland cells, which secrete sticky substance and gas bubbles for floating.
Under the microscope, the body wall, and that of the hollow
tentacles, is seen to be composed of two cell layers. The ectoderm is on
the outside and the endoderm is the inner layer. Between the two there is
a thin layer of jelly-like material called the mesoglea. Most of the cells
taper at one end and the spaces between them are filled with interstitial
cells – small unspecialized cells that help make good any injury to the
animal.
b. Hydra’s Digestive, Excretory and Respiratory System
Digestion in Hydra therefore can be divided into two phases, the
preliminary digestion outside the cells of the endodermis (extracellular),
and the secondary phase inside the cells (intracellular). The main
digestion is extracellular. The cells of the gut merely absorb the digested
remains. In all cnidarians (corals, hydroids, jellyfish, sea anemones, etc)
digestion is partly extracellular and partly intracellular.
Because the body wall is only two cells thick and is surrounded
by water on both sides, no special organs are required to obtain oxygen
or to get rid of waste matter. These substances merely diffuse in and out
of cells. A circulation system is unnecessary for carrying dissolved gases
and nutrients around the body.
 Hydras can obtain oxygen just with diffusion from the water
through the skin. The larger an organism is, the more difficult it would be
for diffusion to supply oxygen alone because of the amount of cells from
the skin to the center. Hydras are small enough that oxygen can reach
every part of the organism effectively. And because it lives in an aquatic
environment, the water provides the "wetness" needed for gas exchange.
c. Hydra’s Habitat
They can be found in most unpolluted freshwater ponds, lakes
and streams in the temperate and tropical regions by gently sweeping a
collecting net through weedy areas.
d. Hydra’s Reproduction System
During warm weather, when food is easily obtained, Hydra
reproduces by budding. The body wall grows at some point or points near
the base and forms a bulge. A mouth and tentacles develop at the end of
the bulge and the new animal becomes separated from the parent. It may
drift around in the water for a few days before becoming attached. Even
small broken parts of Hydra can grow into complete individuals as long
as certain amounts of both ectoderm and endoderm are present. In some
related animals, e.g. Obelia, budding occurs frequently but the new
individuals do not separate. They all remain together and build up a
branching colony.
Hydra can also reproduce sexually. Male and female structure
sometimes occur on one individual but in most species the sexes are
separate. In the autumn, testes appear near the tentacles and ovaries near
the base. They, and the sex cells they produce, develop from the
interstitial cells. Both male and female structures develop as swellings on
the body but the male structures contain lost of sperm cells and the
ovaries, only a single egg. When ripe, the male cells are shed into the
water. Most of them perish but some reach and join with female cells.
The zygotes so formed begin to divide rapidly and form balls of cells.
These form a protective layer around themselves and drop off from the
 parent to spend the winter in the mud. When the water warms up in the
spring, the cells break through the protective coat and grow into a new
Hydra.
e. Life Cycle of Obelia

The polyp colony reproduces asexually. During this stage of life,

Obelia are confined to substrate surfaces. On this mature colony there are
individual hydranths called gastrozooids, which can be found expanded
or contracted, to aid in the growth of this organism by feeding; the
reproductive polyp gonozooids has medusa buds. Other hydranths are
specialized for defense. The main stalky body of the colony is composed
of a coenosarc, which is covered by a protective perisarc.
The next generation of the life cycle begins when the medusae
are released from these gonozooids, producing free swimming only male
medusae velum with gonads, a mouth, and tentacles. The physical
appearance of the male and female medusae velum, including their
gonads, are indistinguishable, and the sex can only be determined by
observing the inside of the gonads, which will either contain sperm or
eggs. The medusae reproduce sexually, releasing sperm and eggs that
fertilize to form a zygote, which later morphs into a blastula, then a
ciliated swimming larva called a planula.
 The planulae live free-swimming for a while but eventually
attach themselves to some solid surface, where they begin their
reproductive phase of life. Once attached to a substrate, a planula quickly
develops into one feeding polyp. As the polyp grows, it begins
developing branches of other feeding individuals, thus forming a new
generation of polyps by asexual budding.
f. The Roles of Hydra
The freshwater coelenterate Hydra vulgaris is an important
component of freshwater ecosystems, and this study aimed to establish its
value as an indicator of pollutants entering freshwater. The toxicity of the
heavy metals copper, cadmium and zinc was assessed using both acute
lethal and sub-lethal responses. Techniques involving the identification
and large-scale culture of Hydra were also examined. The acute lethal
toxicity of copper, cadmium and zinc was measured by determining 24-h,
48-h, 72-h and 96-h LC50 values and the sub-lethal effects assessed
using a feeding test. The feeding test examined toxic effects on the
normal responses of Hydra to the presence of the prey provided, neonate
Daphnia magna (Strauss). Results of this study demonstrated that H.
vulgaris (Pallas) is a suitable species for evaluating the toxicity of
freshwater pollutants and can be used successfully to rank toxicants in
order of potential hazard. It can be cultured easily in the laboratory to
provide large numbers of test animals and can be used in simple, cost-
effective bioassays of both acute and sub-acute toxicity.

2. Scyphozoa
Scyphozoa (in greek language, scypho = bowl, zoa = animals) have
a dominant medusa form of its life. Scyphozoa medusa in the cycle known
as the jellyfish. Medusa generally measure 20-40 cm. Reproduction done in
asexual and small sexual. Polyp resulted in asexual. The examples of
Scyphozoa medusa is Cyanea and Chrysaora fruttescens. The examples of
Scyphozoa is jellyfish.
a. Jellyfish’s Body Structure

Jellyfish are composed of more than 90% water; most of their

umbrella mass is a gelatinous material — the jelly — called mesoglea
which is surrounded by two layers of epithelial cells which form the
umbrella (top surface) and subumbrella (bottom surface) of the bell, or
body.A jellyfish does not have a brain or central nervous system, but
rather has a loose network of nerves, located in the epidermis, which is
called a "nerve net". A jellyfish detects various stimuli including the
touch of other animals via this nerve net, which then transmits impulses
both throughout the nerve net and around a circular nerve ring, through
the rhopalial lappet, located at the rim of the jellyfish body, to other
nerve cells. Some jellyfish also have ocelli: light-sensitive organs that do
not form images but which can detect light, and are used to determine up
from down, responding to sunlight shining on the water's surface. These
are generally pigment spot ocelli, which have some cells (not all)
pigmented.

b. Jellyfish’s Digestive, Excretory and Respiratory System

Jellyfish do not have specialized digestive, osmoregulatory,
central nervous, respiratory, or circulatory systems. They digest using the
gastrodermal lining of the gastrovascular cavity, where nutrients are
absorbed. They do not need a respiratory system since their skin is thin
enough that the body is oxygenated by diffusion.
c. Jellyfish’s Habitat

Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep
sea. Some hydrozoan jellyfish, or hydromedusae, are also found in fresh
water; freshwater species are less than an inch (25 mm) in diameter, are
colorless and do not sting. Many of the best-known jellyfish, such as
Aurelia, are scyphomedusae. These are the large, often colorful, jellyfish
that are common in coastal zones worldwide.

d. Jellyfish’s Reproduction
 Individual Jellyfish are either male or female. The eggs and
sperm develop in very colorful special areas called 'Gonads' inside the
body wall. When all of the eggs and sperm are fully developed, they are
released into the stomach and then through the mouth into the sea. In
most cases, to reproduce, a male jellyfish releases his sperm into the
surrounding water. The sperm then swims into the mouth of the female
jellyfish, allowing the fertilization of the ova process to begin. Moon
jellies, however, use a different process: their eggs become lodged in pits
on the oral arms, which form a temporary brood chamber to
accommodate fertilization.
When the eggs are released into the sea they are fertilized by the
sperm and continue to develop. As in all many-celled animals, the
microscopic fertilized eggs begin a series of cell divisions which finally
result in an embryo. However, the embryo does not develop directly into
a baby jellyfish, but becomes a tiny, flattened creature called a 'Planula'.
Below is a diagram showing the process of transformation from
a Planula to a Jellyfish:

1. The tiny Planula floating in the sea.

2. Searching for a place to attach itself.
3. Once attached, it feeds on passing,
floating food.
4. At this stage, the Polyps mouth and
tentacles are facing upwards.
5. Grooves appear and become deeper,
eventually cutting through the
Polyps body.
6. A pile of disc-shaped structures emerge and break away. Each being a
baby Jellyfish.
7. At this stage it is called a Medusa and is the Jellyfish form we
recognise in our oceans.
 e. The Roles of Jellyfish

 Importance to human as culinary uses

 Jellyfish are also harvested for their collagen, which can be used for a
variety of applications including the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
 Toxicity to humans
 Evidence in recent years suggest that the population of jellyfish has
swelled as a result of overfishing which reduces the number of
predatory organisms that feed on them.

3. Anthozoa
Anthozoa (in greek language, anthus = flower, zoa = animals) have
a lot of colorful tentacles like flowers. Anthozoa has no form, only the form
polyp. Polyp Anthozoa size greater than two classes in a shallow sea other.
Its life in colony. Anthozoa reproduce asexually by budding and
fragmentation, as well as sexual reproduction to produce gametes. Examples
are Tubastrea Anthozoa (coral or coral), Acropora, Urticina (sea anemone),
and turbinaria. Coral live in clear water and shallow because of coral
symbiosis with algae. Algae provide food and assist the formation of coral
framework in coral. Coral provide effluent that is food for algae as well as
protection for the algae from coral herbivore. The coral’s skeleton is
originated from kapur. Skeleton substance composed of colonies of coral
polyps that has shaped reef (coral reef) or atoll (coral island). The example
of Anthozoa is sea anemone.
a. Body Structure of Anemone
A sea anemone is a polyp attached at the bottom to the surface
beneath it by an adhesive foot, called a basal disc, with a column shaped
body ending in an oral disc. Most are from 1.8 to 3 centimetres (0.71 to
1.2 in) in diameter, but anemones as small as 4 millimetres (0.16 in) or as
large as nearly 2 metres (6.6 ft) are known. They can have anything from
a few tens of tentacles to a few hundred tentacles.
 The mouth is in the middle of the oral disc surrounded by
tentacles armed with many cnidocytes, which are cells that function as a
defense and as a means to capture prey. Cnidocytes contain nematocyst,
capsule-like organelles capable of everting, giving phylum Cnidaria its
name. The cnidae that sting are called nematocysts. Each nematocyst
contains a small vesicle filled with toxins (actinoporins), an inner
filament, and an external sensory hair. When the hair is touched it
mechanically triggers the cell explosion, a harpoon-like structure which
attaches to organisms that trigger it, and injects a dose of poison in the
flesh of the aggressor or prey. This gives the anemone its characteristic
sticky feeling.
b. Anemone’s Digestive, Excretory and Respiratory System
There is a gastrovascular cavity (which functions as a stomach)
with a single opening to the outside which functions as both a mouth and
an anus; waste and undigested matter is excreted through the mouth/anus,
which can be described as an incomplete gut. The mouth is typically slit-
like in shape, and bears a groove at one or both ends. The groove, termed
a siphonophore, is ciliated, and helps to circulate water through the
gastrovascular cavity. Some anemones feed on small particles, which are
caught with the aid of a mucus secretion and moving currents that are set
up by the tentacles. Most sea anemones are predacious, immobilizing
their prey with the aid of their nematocysts.
The mouth opens into a flattened pharynx. This consists of an
in-folding of the body wall, and is therefore lined by the animal's
epidermis. The pharynx typically runs for about two-thirds the length of
the body before opening into the gastrovascular cavity that fills the
remainder of the body.
The gastrovascular cavity itself is divided into a number of
chambers by mesenteries radiating inwards from the body wall. Some of
the mesenteries form complete partitions with a free edge at the base of
the pharynx, to which they connect, but others reach only partway across.
 The mesenteries are usually found in multiples of twelve, and are
symmetrically arranged around the central pharynx. They have stomach
lining on both sides, separated by a thin layer of mesoglea, and includes
filaments of tissue specialised for secreting digestive enzymes. In some
species these filaments extend below the lower margin of the mesentery,
hanging free in the gastovascular cavity as acontial filaments.
c. Anemone’s Habitat
Most species inhabit tropical reefs, although there are species
adapted to relatively cold waters, intertidal reefs, and sand/kelp
environments. The sea anemone has a pedal disc, which the organism
uses to attach itself to rocks or which it anchors in the sand. Others also
burrow into a stronger object. Some species attach to kelp and others are
free-swimming.

d. Anemone’s Reproduction
Sea anemones can reproduce by sexual or asexual means. Some
species are either male or female, while others may be hermaphroditic. In
the latter, eggs and sperm are produced at different times and released to
the sea where external fertilization may take place. Another means of
reproduction is by fission, with the adult anemone splitting off new
daughter cells that, in time, develop to full size.
e. The Roles of Anemone
The sea anemones become habitat of fish, especially the
anemonefish (clownfish). Clownfish, small banded fish in various colors,
are not affected by their host anemone's sting and shelter from predators
within its tentacles
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