Review of the Cnidaria

We should probably review the members of the phylum Cnideria.

Class ANTHOZOA - Sea Anemones and Corals


Anemone


Anemone


Soft Coral


Hard Coral


Class CUBOZOA - Box Jellies (Sea Wasps)






Class HYDROZOA - Hydras, Hydroids, and Siphonophores


Hydra


Hydra


Hydroid


Hydroids


Siphonophore


Siphonophore (Portuguese Man O War)


Class SCYPHOZOA - Jellies






Class STAUROZOA - Stalked Jellies

Images of the stinging cells of Cnidaria

The NEMATOCYST is the stinging barb that injects venom into the prey of Cnidarians. The CNIDOCYTE is the cell that houses it. Let's have a look at some images of these structures from various Cnidaria.

BY REQUEST... The Jellies

First off, the Jellyfish are not fish, so I'll call them Jellies. They're in the Phlum CNIDERIA, which consists of Jellies, Siphonophores (like the Portuguese Man'O'War), Hydra, Corals, and Anemones. Cnidarians have no brain and no blood. They usually capture prey with tentacles that contain toxic stinging cells. Here is a gallery of some notable and attractive species.

SEA WASP (or Box Jelly)
These creatures are so venomous that deaths have occurred from their stings. They are found in the waters of the western Pacific, near Northern Australia and SE Asia.






Australian warning sign at beach


Marks from contact with
tentacles


PORTUGUESE MAN O WAR
The Man O War is not just one animal, but a colony of animals living together as one body. They also have a rather powerful and painful venom. While many jellies travel through the water column, the Man O War travels only on the surface as the top of its body is a gas filled float.








It is not uncommon for PMOW to wash up on
beaches. Even when dead, they may still sting.




LION'S MANE JELLY
The Lion's Mane is the largest and longest species of Jelly in the World. It can be found in the Northern Pacific, Northern Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The longest of them have tentacles that reach up to 120 ft.










The Pacific and Atlantic populations
have different colors.


Random Jellies


Pelagia Noctiluca


Deep Sea Siphonophore
(colonial organism)


Deep sea jelly


Moon Jellies


Sea Nettles


Deep sea jelly




Deep sea jelly


Jellies living in inland saltwater lagoon on island
of Palau

LAS ORUGAS!!! - pt. 2 Gulf Fritillaries

We are also raising the caterpillars of Gulf Fritillaries, which subsist on Passion Vines. It is a tropical butterfly, and the gulf coast of Texas is at the Northern end of it's range. This is not a species whose caterpillars do well in cold weather, so we fear that they may be doomed by the season. Here are some pics of the Gulf Fritillary at various points of it's development

* Oh, I almost forgot... both the caterpillars and adults of both the Gulf Fritillary and the Monarch are poisonous, due tho the poisonous plants they consume (as larvae).


Native Passionvine sp.


G.F. egg


G.F. eggs right before hatching








G.F. Chrysalis




Newly emerged butterfly with chrysalis
and caterpillar preparing to form chrysalis


Adult G.F. butterflies feed at a variety of
nectar plants.




Mating


Egg laying