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Story: Corals, anemones and jellyfish

The five classes of cnidarians

CNIDARIA

‘Nettle animals’

  • Anthozoa

    Corals and sea anemones

    Anthozoa, Corals and sea anemones

  • Scyphozoa

    Swimming Jellyfish

    Scyphozoa, Swimming Jellyfish

  • Staurozoa

    Stalked Jellyfish

    Staurozoa, Stalked Jellyfish

  • Cubozoa

    Box jellyfish

    Cubozoa, Box jellyfish

  • Hydrozoa

    Hydroids and siphonophores

    Hydrozoa, Hydroids and siphonophores

Corals, sea anemones and jellyfish are the most familiar of the cnidarians. Two lesser-known groups are tiny moss-like creatures called hydroids and the ocean-going siphonophores. Siphonophores are colonies of highly specialised individuals.

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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Dennis Gordon, Corals, anemones and jellyfish – Cnidaria – the nettle animals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/4722/the-five-classes-of-cnidarians (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Dennis Gordon, published 2 March 2009, updated 26 September 2016.

Comments

Asha (Charter student)
02 June 2015
This website is really useful for school, very clear answers and easy to understand.