cnidarian

[ nahy-dair-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. any invertebrate animal, as a hydra, jellyfish, sea anemone, or coral, considered as belonging to the phylum Cnidaria, characterized by the specialized stinging structures in the tentacles surrounding the mouth; a coelenterate.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Cnidaria.

cnidarian

/ knaɪ-; naɪˈdɛərɪən /

noun

1. any invertebrate of the phylum Cnidaria , which comprises the coelenterates

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Cnidaria

cnidarian

/ nī-dâr′ē-ən /

1. Any of various invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria, having a body with radial symmetry and tentacles that bear microscopic stinging capsules called nematocysts. The tentacles surround a mouth that opens into a saclike internal cavity and that is used both for ingesting food and for eliminating wastes. Cnidarians evolved in the Precambrian Era, but it is not known from what type of organism. Cnidarians include the jellyfishes, hydras, sea anemones, and corals.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cnidarian¹

Cnidari(a) + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of cnidarian¹

C20: from New Latin Cnidaria, from Greek knidē nettle

Example Sentences

This suggests that some of the genetic machinery underlying regeneration evolved before the cnidarians split from the ancestors of more “complex” animals such as humans, Macias-Muñoz says.

From Popular-Science

Another seabed survey conducted in 2016 also found 14 xenophyophore species and 12 species of cnidarians, echinoderms, and sponges.

From Nautilus