Kleptocnids

There are animal species whose prey includes cnidarians ( Cnidaria ) and which can take over the nettle cells (nematocytes), which are then referred to as kleptocnids (stolen nettle cells). The cells taken over are used for their own protection against natural predators. The species themselves have mostly developed protective mechanisms against attacks with stinging cells, for example a mucous membrane with an acidic pH value . The nematocytes are eaten with the food intake and then stored, partly within specialized body cells, partly collected in special organs or simply stored in the epidermis.

The term is made up of "klepto" for "steal" and "Cniden" for "stinging cells".

For a long time, this storage led to the false assumption that comb jellyfish, because of their stinging cells, are closely related to the actual originators of these cells, the cnidarians.

Some organisms that exhibit kleptocnids

• the comb jelly Haeckelia rubra
• For example, flatworms of the order Macrostomida
  • Macrostomum linear
• Thread snails (Aeolidida or Aeolidacea), for example
  • Breitwarzige thread snail ( Aeolidia papillosa )
  • Purple thread snail ( Flabellina affinis )
  • Spurilla neapolitana . This species ingests immature nettle cells, which then ripen in special organs, where they are also nourished by the snail.

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• Paul G. Greenwood: Acquisition and Use of Nematocysts by Cnidarian Predators. In: Toxicon. 54 (8), 2010, pp. 1065-1070. doi: 10.1016 / j.toxicon.2009.02.029
• TG Karling: On nematocysts and similar structures in Turbellarians. In: Acta Zoologica Fennica. 116, 1966, pp. 1-28.
• Claus Nielsen: Haeckelia (= Euchlora) and Hydroctena and the phylogenetic interrelationships of Cnidaria and Ctenophora. In: Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 25, 1987, pp. 9-12. doi: 10.1111 / j.1439-0469.1987.tb00910.x