Classe anthozoa Notes

notes for zoology

1. Class Anthozoa - The “flower animals”Class Anthozoa - The “flower animals”
Coral Polyps & Sea AnemonesCoral Polyps & Sea Anemones

2. Class: AnthozoaClass: Anthozoa
•Anemone means flower. Anemone means flower.
•These animals are called flower animals These animals are called flower animals
because of their flower-like appearance. because of their flower-like appearance.

3. Class: AnthozoaClass: Anthozoa
•Their tentacles radiate from the top of their Their tentacles radiate from the top of their
body like flower petals, and they are often body like flower petals, and they are often
brilliantly colored.brilliantly colored.

5. Coral StructureCoral Structure
•Coral polyps secrete
cups of calcium
carbonate (limestone)
for protection.
•Since polyps live in
large colonies, their
calcium carbonate
cups tend to grow
together in large
masses forming coral
stone.

8. Coral StructureCoral Structure
•They are comparable to tropical rainforests
in that they harbor a tremendous amount of
biodiversity.

9. This photograph shows a colony of coral polyps. Look closely
and you will notice that each polyp has a tube-shaped body with
tentacles surrounding the mouth at the top. In this photograph
the polyps have their mouths so tightly closed that you can’t see
them. The pink tissue between the polyps connects them all
together allowing nutrients collected by one polyp to be shared
with others in the colony.

10. There are many There are many
species of species of
clownfish and clownfish and
all establish a all establish a
mutualistic mutualistic
relationship with relationship with
sea anemones.sea anemones.

11. FeedingFeeding
•How do most corals and anemones get
their food?
•Anemones use the cnidocytes in their
tentacles to catch plankton or small
organisms and fish.

12. FeedingFeeding
•Corals also use their tentacles but only at
night and it only makes up 10% of their
diet.

13. FeedingFeeding
•Corals depend on symbiotic algae living in
their body to photosynthesize and produce
food for coral (90% of diet).
•Algae is called Zooxanthellae

14. FeedingFeeding

15. FeedingFeeding
•Because zooxanthellae have to
photosynthesize …… corals can only be
found in:
•Requirements for Coral Reefs
•1. Warm water
•2. clear water
•3. Shallow water