Capitata

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Capitata
Fire coral (Millepora sp.) In the Red Sea near Port Ghalib

Fire coral ( Millepora sp. ) In the Red Sea near Port Ghalib

Systematics
without rank: Tissue animals (Eumetazoa)
Trunk : Cnidarians (Cnidaria)
Class : Hydrozoa (Hydrozoa)
Subclass : Leptolinae
Order : Anthomedusae
Subordination : Capitata
Scientific name
Capitata
Kühn , 1913

The Capitata are a very diverse group of hydrozoans from the order of the Anthomedusae . The best-known groups of the Capitata are the freshwater polyps ( Hydra ), which also occur in Europe, as well as the reef-forming fire corals from the tropical Indo-Pacific , the Red Sea and the Caribbean .

features

In both the polyps and the medusa phase, all capitata have special stinging cells , the complex stenotles (puncture capsules) that have a stylet made up of three thorns. They also contain highly effective nettle poisons that the animals can use to paralyze or kill their victims. This form of the nettle cells is otherwise only found in some Trachymedusae , the state jellyfish (Siphonophorae) and the Actinulidae . All anthomedusae that have stenotles belong to the capitata. If these are absent, they belong to the subordination Filifera .

Name-giving feature of the Capitata are the tentacles with a spherical "head" that the animals always have or only when they are young. However, there are also groups of Filifera, e.g. B. the Ptilocodiidae , which have capitate tentacles.

Hydrocoryne miurensis , the buttoned tentacles are clearly visible
Hydra viridissima
Sailing jellyfish ( Velella velella )

Familys

literature

  • Gruner, H.-E., Hannemann, H.-J., Hartwich, G., Kilias, R .: Urania Tierreich, Invertebrates 1 (Protozoa to Echiurida) . Urania-Verlag, ISBN 3-332-00501-4

Web links

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