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When a cnidarian is free swimming it is called?
Many cnidarian species exist in two different body forms during their life cycle: the free-swimming form, called the medusa (a jellyfish for instance), and the stationary form called the polyp (which resembles a tiny sea anemone).
Are polyps free swimming cnidarians?
Cnidarians have two basic body forms, medusa and polyp. Medusae, such as adult jellyfish, are free-swimming or floating. They usually have umbrella-shaped bodies and tetramerous (four-part) symmetry. Polyps, in contrast, are usually sessile.
What is a cnidarian polyp?
polyp, in zoology, one of two principal body forms occurring in members of the animal phylum Cnidaria. The polyp may be solitary, as in the sea anemone, or colonial, as in coral, and is sessile (attached to a surface). The lower end of the polyp typically is adapted for attachment to a surface.
What are the two forms of cnidarians?
Cnidarians have two body forms—polyp and medusa—which often occur within the life cycle of a single cnidarian. Sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens). The body of a medusa, commonly called a jellyfish, usually has the shape of a bell or an umbrella, with tentacles hanging downward at the margin.
What is the polyp and medusa forms of cnidarians?
In the phylum Cnidaria, which includes jellyfish and sea anemones, polyp and medusa are two different stages of the life cycle….
| Difference Between Medusa and Polyp | |
|---|---|
| Polyp | Medusa |
| Polyps are sessile | Medusae are mobile |
| Shape | |
| Polyps possess a tubular shape | Medusa has a bell-shaped body |
What is the difference between a cnidarian polyp and medusa?
Polyp is a sessile life cycle stage of the Cnidaria phylum. Medusa is a mobile life cycle stage of the Cnidaria phylum, contracting with it muscular bell. Polyp have a tubular shape and are fixed at their base, with the mouth present at the other end of the tube facing the water.
Which of the following is cnidarian?
cnidarian, also called coelenterate, any member of the phylum Cnidaria (Coelenterata), a group made up of more than 9,000 living species. Mostly marine animals, the cnidarians include the corals, hydras, jellyfish, Portuguese men-of-war, sea anemones, sea pens, sea whips, and sea fans.