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A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase -shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral (opposite to oral) end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc , while in colonies ...
Thus, the Greek word for coral is 'Gorgeia', as Medusa was one of the three Gorgons. [9] Poseidon resided in a palace made of coral and gems, and Hephaestus first crafted his work from coral. The Romans believed coral could protect children from harm, as well as cure wounds made by snakes and scorpions and diagnose diseases by changing colour.
The phylum Cnidaria is widely accepted as being monophyletic and consisting of two clades, Anthozoa and Medusozoa. Anthozoa includes the classes Hexacorallia, the hard corals, and Octocorallia, the soft corals, as well as Ceriantharia, the tube-dwelling anemones.
Medusa and her Gorgon sisters Euryale and Stheno were usually described as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto; of the three, only Medusa was mortal. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus , who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon [ 5 ] until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her ...
Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height.
Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton.The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mouth is fringed with tentacles.
Coral reefs are some of the most biodiverse habitats on earth, supporting large numbers of species of corals, fish, molluscs, worms, arthropods, starfish, sea urchins, other invertebrates and algae. Because of the photosynthetic requirements of the corals, they are found in shallow waters, and many of these fringe land masses. [ 24 ]
Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals , although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being motile.