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cnidarian
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References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
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sea anemone Great Barrier Reef, Queensland Chrysaora sea wasp sea pen sea fan box jellyfish
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cnidarian summary
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
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cnidarian: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

The standard technical treatment of the Cnidaria is Libbie Henrietta Hyman, The Invertebrates, vol. 1, Protozoa Through Ctenophora (1940). The history of the phylum as deduced from the fossil record is covered in Raymond C. Moore (ed.), Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, part F, Coelenterata (1956, reprinted 1967). C.E. Mills and R.L. Miller, “Ingestion of a Medusa (Aegina citrea) by the Nematocyst-Containing Ctenophore Haeckelia rubra (formerly Euchlora rubra): Phylogenetic Implications,” Marine Biology, 78(2):215–221 (1984), offers information on the relationship between Ctenophora and Cnidaria. The following proceedings of international symposia on cnidarians provide useful information: W.J. Rees (ed.), The Cnidaria and Their Evolution (1966); Takasi Tokioka and Saburō Nishimura (eds.), Recent Trends in Research in Coelenterate Biology (1973); G.O. Mackie (ed.), Coelenterate Ecology and Behavior (1976); and P. Tardent and R. Tardent (eds.), Developmental and Cellular Biology of Coelenterates (1980). See also the following proceedings of international coral reef symposia: Proceedings of the Third International Coral Reef Symposium, 2 vol. (1977); The Reef and Man: Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef Symposium, 2 vol. (1982); and French Polynesian Coral Reefs: Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress, 6 vol. (1985). The major justification of recognizing class Cubozoa is B. Werner, “Bau und Lebensgeschichte des Polypen von Tripedalia cystophora (Cubozoa, class. nov., Carybdeidae) und seine Bedeutung für die Evolution der Cnidaria,” Helgoländer wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen, 27:461–504 (1975).

Cadet H. Hand Daphne Gail Fautin

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Daphne Gail Fautin
  • Cadet H. Hand
    Emeritus Professor of Zoology, University of California, Berkeley; Emeritus Director, Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega Bay, California.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives - DSpace Repository - Cnidaria: Introduction (PDF). Dec 13, 2024
Add new Web site: BMC - BMC Ecology and Evolution - Cnidarian phylogenetic relationships as revealed by mitogenomics. Oct 18, 2024
Add new Web site: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives - DSpace Repository - Cnidaria: Introduction (PDF). Aug 23, 2024
Add new Web site: Nature - Systematic review of cnidarian microbiomes reveals insights into the structure, specificity, and fidelity of marine associations. Jun 27, 2024
Add new Web site: MarineBio - Cnidarians. May 02, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Central Florida Pressbooks - Phylum Cnidaria. Jan 08, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Minnesota Libraries - Sponges and Cnidarians. Nov 17, 2023
Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Cnidarians. Nov 10, 2023
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Cnidaria. Sep 15, 2023
Add new Web site: Exploring Our Fluid Earth - Phylum Cnidaria. Mar 02, 2023
Added a cross-reference. Mar 01, 2023
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - Cnidaria Toxicity. Sep 26, 2022
Media added. Oct 20, 2020
Revised geological time boundaries and added cross-references throughout. Oct 20, 2020
Add new Web site: Marine Education Society of Australasia - Cnidaria. Oct 17, 2017
Media added. Sep 08, 2017
Media added. May 12, 2017
Media added. May 12, 2017
Add new Web site: Oceanic Research Group - The Wonders of the Seas: Cnidarian. Aug 17, 2016
Number of orders in Class Cubozoa changed from 1 (Cubomedusae) to 2 (Carybdeida and Chirodropida). Apr 06, 2015
Add new Web site: Animal Diversity Web - Cnidaria. Jul 28, 2014
Image of sea wasp (Chironex fleckeri) added. Nov 13, 2012
Added image of sea nettle. Feb 02, 2012
Updated geologic time data. Mar 25, 2010
Geologic time data updated. Sep 15, 2009
Article revised and updated. Nov 26, 2008
Media added. Mar 21, 2008
Added new Web site: Tim Lynch - Cnidaria Lesson. Feb 22, 2007
Added new Web site: Tree of Life Project - Cnidaria. Feb 22, 2007
Added new Web site: University of California Museum of Paleontology - Introduction to the Cnidaria. Jun 27, 2006
Article revised. Oct 05, 2000
Article added to new online database. Jul 26, 1999
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