What is a polyp simple definition?
What is a polyp simple definition?
Polyp, in zoology, one of two principal body forms occurring in members of the animal phylum Cnidaria. The polyp may be solitary, as in the sea anemone, or colonial, as in coral, and is sessile (attached to a surface). The lower end of the polyp typically is adapted for attachment to a surface.
What are polyps in biology?
1 : the sessile form of cnidarian (such as a coral or sea anemone) typically having a hollow cylindrical body closed and attached at one end and opening at the other by a central mouth surrounded by tentacles armed with nematocysts.
Why is sea anemone a polyp?
Sea anemones breed by liberating sperm and eggs through the mouth into the sea. The resulting fertilized eggs develop into planula larvae which, after being planktonic for a while, settle on the seabed and develop directly into juvenile polyps.
Is coral a polyp?
Corals are animals that have the structure of a polyp. Other polyps include sea anemones and Portuguese man o’ wars. Coral polyps are attached to the substrate. Substrate can be rock, other corals, marine debris, or other hard surface.
Which is an example of a polyp body type?
An example of the polyp form is Hydra spp.; perhaps the most well-known medusoid animals are the jellies (jellyfish). Medusa forms are motile, with the mouth and tentacles hanging down from an umbrella-shaped bell. Some cnidarians are polymorphic, that is, they have two body plans during their life cycle.
How do you describe a polyp?
Polyps are abnormal tissue growths that most often look like small, flat bumps or tiny mushroomlike stalks. Most polyps are small and less than half an inch wide. Polyps in the colon are the most common, but it’s also possible to develop polyps in places that include: ear canal.
What is an example of a polyp?
Polyps generally reproduce asexually (by budding) whereas medusae, by sexual reproduction. Some Cnidarians take a polyp body form (e.g. sea anemones and corals); others, medusa (e.g. scyphozoans). But there are also Cnidarians that exhibit both polyp and medusa stages in their life cycle (e.g. most hydrozoans).
What is the function of a polyp?
Polyps extend their tentacles, particularly at night, containing coiled stinging nettle-like cells or nematocysts which pierce and poison and firmly hold living prey paralysing or killing them. Polyp prey includes copepods and fish larvae.
What is the function of these cells inside the polyp?
Tiny plant cells called zooxanthellae live within most types of coral polyps. They provide the coral with foods resulting from photosynthesis.
Can polyps swim?
Medusae swim by jet propulsion (see below Tissues and muscles). However, most do so weakly and are carried passively by currents over long distances. Polyps are generally sedentary.
Which is the best definition of a polyp?
pol·yp | \\ˈpä-ləp \\. 1 : a coelenterate (such as a coral) that has typically a hollow cylindrical body closed and attached at one end and opening at the other by a central mouth surrounded by tentacles armed with nematocysts.
What kind of animal is a polyp or zooid?
The term polyp also is sometimes applied to an individual in a colony of invertebrate aquatic animals belonging to the phylum Bryozoa, although those individuals are usually called zooids. This article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer, Research Editor.
Can a polyp on the lining of the colon be fatal?
A colon polyp is a small clump of cells that forms on the lining of the colon. Most colon polyps are harmless. But over time, some colon polyps can develop into colon cancer, which is often fatal when found in its later stages.
What do the tentacles of a polyp do?
The tentacles are organs which serve both for the tactile sense and for the capture of food. Polyps extend their tentacles, particularly at night, containing coiled stinging nettle-like cells or nematocysts which pierce and poison and firmly hold living prey paralysing or killing them. Polyp prey includes copepods and fish larvae.
