The Coelenterate
Coelenterates are very simple
animals. Coelenterates are the first
animals to have a digestive tract.
Their tentacles can sting badly.
Body
The body of a coelenterate is like a
hollow sac in which the food is digested.
Some coelenterates have a cylinder-shaped
body (hydras, sea anemones, corals); some
have an umbrella-shaped body (jellyfish); and
some have an oval-shaped body (sea gooseberry).
Tentacles
Tentacles are long, slender, hollow tubes
around the mouth of the coelenterate.
Tentacles are waved in all directions
to catch passing animals.
Nematocysts
Nematocycts are oval-shaped stinging cells
located in the outer layer of the tentacles
(jellyfish, hydras). Nematocysts contain
poisonous threads which paralyse the victim.
Mouth
The mouth of the coelenterate is a large
opening through which the tentacles
push the food into the body cavity.
-Pinegreenwoods Montessori
