Cnidaria

Cnidaria is a phylum of animals containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in freshwater and marine environments, including jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites. Their distinguishing features are a decentralized nerve net distributed throughout a gelatinous body, and the presence of cnidocytes or cnidoblasts, specialized cells with ejectable organelles used mainly for envenomation and capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living, jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick. Many cnidarian species can reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Cnidaria

Frédéric Ducarme · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
AnimaliaPBDB

Time the record covers

At least 538 million years on record.

The record covers at least 538.8 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 635 Mya to 11.7 ka.

Cambrian — about 58 of 12000 occurrencesOrdovician — about 1245 of 12000 occurrencesSilurian — about 3421 of 12000 occurrencesDevonian — about 2808 of 12000 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 1542 of 12000 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 153 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Triassic — about 0 of 12000 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 9 of 12000 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 85 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Jurassic — about 48 of 12000 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 87 of 12000 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 647 of 12000 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 248 of 12000 occurrencesLate Cretaceous — about 451 of 12000 occurrencesPaleocene — about 139 of 12000 occurrencesEocene — about 421 of 12000 occurrencesOligocene — about 189 of 12000 occurrencesMiocene — about 392 of 12000 occurrencesPliocene — about 9 of 12000 occurrencesPleistocene — about 15 of 12000 occurrences648–626 Mya — about 3 occurrences626–605 Mya — about 7 occurrences605–583 Mya — about 7 occurrences583–561 Mya — about 7 occurrences561–540 Mya — about 8 occurrences540–518 Mya — about 32 occurrences518–497 Mya — about 27 occurrences497–475 Mya — about 4 occurrences475–453 Mya — about 264 occurrences453–432 Mya — about 2537 occurrences432–410 Mya — about 2476 occurrences410–389 Mya — about 1087 occurrences389–367 Mya — about 1055 occurrences367–345 Mya — about 520 occurrences345–324 Mya — about 979 occurrences324–302 Mya — about 89 occurrences302–281 Mya — about 50 occurrences281–259 Mya — about 97 occurrences259–237 Mya — about 19 occurrences237–216 Mya — about 31 occurrences216–194 Mya — about 65 occurrences194–173 Mya — about 37 occurrences173–151 Mya — about 488 occurrences151–130 Mya — about 317 occurrences130–108 Mya — about 171 occurrences108–86 Mya — about 92 occurrences86–65 Mya — about 381 occurrences65–43 Mya — about 188 occurrences43–22 Mya — about 552 occurrences22–0 Mya — about 409 occurrences538.8 Mya129 ka648 Mya0 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Cnidaria on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

12,000 occurrences read

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. The read hit its cap, so every figure above is a floor and the shares are of the occurrences read. More on what this infers.

Found in

at least 860 formations

Ludlowville — 42.76°N, 78.65°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 78.79°WLudlowville — 42.86°N, 77.76°WLudlowville — 42.87°N, 77.88°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 77.81°WLudlowville — 42.88°N, 78.57°WLudlowville — 42.96°N, 78.13°WLudlowville — 42.80°N, 77.27°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 76.99°WLudlowville — 42.84°N, 77.90°WLudlowville — 42.73°N, 76.70°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 76.50°WLudlowville — 42.86°N, 76.35°WLudlowville — 42.93°N, 76.22°WLudlowville — 42.95°N, 76.02°WLudlowville — 42.93°N, 76.00°WLudlowville — 42.85°N, 78.37°WOnondaga — 40.60°N, 77.57°WOnondaga — 43.01°N, 78.01°WOnondaga — 42.95°N, 76.17°WOnondaga — 42.92°N, 78.25°WOnondaga — 42.78°N, 74.33°WOnondaga — 42.70°N, 74.92°WOnondaga — 42.96°N, 78.74°WOnondaga — 42.65°N, 74.08°WHigh Tor Limestone — 51.63°N, 3.97°WHigh Tor Limestone — 51.50°N, 3.00°WCoopers Creek Limestone — 38.15°S, 146.47°EBrassfield — 37.66°N, 84.12°WBrassfield — 38.73°N, 83.61°WBrassfield — 38.69°N, 83.46°WBrassfield — 39.81°N, 83.99°WBrassfield — 39.86°N, 84.55°WBrassfield — 38.82°N, 83.51°WBrassfield — 38.89°N, 82.45°WBrassfield — 39.48°N, 83.86°WBrassfield — 41.13°N, 84.23°WBrassfield — 39.97°N, 84.32°WBrassfield — 38.90°N, 85.19°WBrassfield — 39.03°N, 83.59°WBrassfield — 39.78°N, 84.86°WBrassfield — 38.14°N, 85.53°WBrassfield — 38.03°N, 85.53°WBrassfield — 37.80°N, 85.47°WBrassfield — 37.56°N, 85.43°WBrassfield — 37.49°N, 84.65°WBrassfield — 39.26°N, 83.75°WBrassfield — 39.05°N, 83.54°WBrassfield — 37.48°N, 84.55°WBrassfield — 37.60°N, 84.28°WBrassfield — 37.80°N, 84.09°WBrassfield — 38.10°N, 83.83°WBrassfield — 38.15°N, 83.74°WBrassfield — 38.22°N, 83.63°WBrassfield — 38.38°N, 83.64°WBrassfield — 37.71°N, 83.98°WBrassfield — 39.99°N, 84.35°WBrassfield — 39.34°N, 85.48°WBlack Rock Limestone — 51.57°N, 4.33°WBlack Rock Limestone — 51.33°N, 2.74°WKorallenoolith — 52.15°N, 9.98°EKorallenoolith — 52.25°N, 9.70°EKorallenoolith — 52.25°N, 9.50°EKorallenoolith — 52.37°N, 9.70°EKorallenoolith — 52.12°N, 10.10°EKorallenoolith — 52.21°N, 9.20°EKorallenoolith — 52.21°N, 9.13°EKorallenoolith — 52.18°N, 9.60°EKorallenoolith — 52.25°N, 9.57°EJeffersonville Limestone — 38.50°N, 85.75°WScotch Grove — 42.00°N, 91.00°WScotch Grove — 40.00°N, 97.00°WScotch Grove — 41.92°N, 90.92°WScotch Grove — 41.90°N, 90.60°WScotch Grove — 42.15°N, 90.68°WScotch Grove — 42.00°N, 92.00°WScotch Grove — 41.77°N, 91.13°WScotch Grove — 42.12°N, 91.13°WScotch Grove — 42.48°N, 90.87°WScotch Grove — 41.85°N, 90.18°WScotch Grove — 42.17°N, 91.10°WScotch Grove — 42.10°N, 91.28°WTamana — 10.47°N, 61.19°WTamana — 10.39°N, 61.29°WTamana — 10.22°N, 61.37°WTamana — 10.33°N, 61.43°WTamana — 10.33°N, 62.42°WTamana — 10.42°N, 61.13°WSkaneateles — 42.97°N, 76.44°WSkaneateles — 42.98°N, 76.34°WSkaneateles — 42.94°N, 76.25°WSkaneateles — 42.92°N, 76.21°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 76.14°WSkaneateles — 42.93°N, 75.99°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 75.89°WSkaneateles — 42.95°N, 76.43°WSkaneateles — 42.90°N, 75.60°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.58°WSkaneateles — 42.88°N, 75.52°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.18°WSkaneateles — 42.83°N, 75.02°WSkaneateles — 42.81°N, 74.94°WSkaneateles — 42.96°N, 75.88°WSkaneateles — 42.87°N, 77.87°WBeaverfoot — 50.71°N, 115.38°WBeaverfoot — 50.50°N, 115.92°WBeaverfoot — 50.75°N, 115.50°WBeaverfoot — 50.03°N, 115.51°WBeaverfoot — 52.00°N, 116.75°WBeaverfoot — 50.67°N, 115.35°WBeaverfoot — 50.45°N, 115.77°WBeaverfoot — 51.17°N, 116.73°WBeaverfoot — 50.38°N, 115.80°WBeaverfoot — 50.88°N, 116.22°WBeaverfoot — 50.00°N, 116.40°WBeaverfoot — 51.20°N, 116.82°WBeaverfoot — 50.18°N, 115.36°WBeaverfoot — 50.47°N, 115.25°WBeaverfoot — 50.59°N, 115.30°WBeaverfoot — 51.68°N, 116.22°WBeaverfoot — 52.13°N, 116.98°WBeaverfoot — 49.83°N, 119.83°WMassenkalk — 48.68°N, 10.22°EGarra — 33.00°S, 149.00°EGarra — 33.95°S, 148.82°EDouro — 73.25°N, 93.50°WDouro — 72.67°N, 99.55°WDouro — 75.25°N, 95.00°WDouro — 74.42°N, 95.00°WDouro — 75.00°N, 86.00°WDouro — 74.58°N, 95.50°WNingqiang — 32.68°N, 105.93°ENingqiang — 32.68°N, 106.05°ENingqiang — 32.66°N, 105.96°ENingqiang — 32.83°N, 106.29°ENingqiang — 32.87°N, 105.97°ENingqiang — 33.05°N, 106.65°EGhasr Ghand — 26.50°N, 60.00°ERacine — 43.04°N, 87.91°WRacine — 43.05°N, 88.01°WRacine — 42.73°N, 87.78°WRacine — 42.88°N, 88.04°WRacine — 43.01°N, 88.38°WRacine — 42.00°N, 88.00°WRacine — 41.85°N, 87.65°WRacine — 41.65°N, 87.68°WEdwardsville — 39.50°N, 86.50°WEdwardsville — 39.75°N, 86.67°WEdwardsville — 39.25°N, 86.33°WEdwardsville — 39.00°N, 86.25°WEdwardsville — 39.04°N, 86.50°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.18°N, 99.27°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 51.58°N, 98.83°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.14°N, 99.45°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.70°N, 100.30°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.25°N, 99.50°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 51.75°N, 98.58°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.24°N, 99.52°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.25°N, 100.00°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 53.30°N, 100.27°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 50.70°N, 98.03°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 51.08°N, 97.62°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 51.00°N, 98.83°WCedar Lake Dolomite — 51.60°N, 98.70°WLouisville Limestone — 40.55°N, 84.57°WLouisville Limestone — 38.26°N, 85.63°WMoodys Branch — 32.95°N, 90.17°WMoodys Branch — 32.23°N, 92.15°WMoodys Branch — 32.01°N, 92.00°WMoodys Branch — 32.33°N, 90.15°WMoodys Branch — 31.88°N, 88.69°WMoodys Branch — 31.88°N, 88.32°WMoodys Branch — 31.77°N, 88.33°WMoodys Branch — 31.31°N, 86.48°WMoodys Branch — 31.03°N, 85.85°WMoodys Branch — 31.55°N, 87.58°WMoodys Branch — 31.14°N, 87.94°WChasm Creek — 58.17°N, 94.67°WChasm Creek — 58.13°N, 94.77°WChasm Creek — 58.25°N, 94.57°WChasm Creek — 56.63°N, 93.63°WChasm Creek — 56.75°N, 93.60°WChasm Creek — 58.17°N, 94.08°WBlack Rock — 51.33°N, 2.74°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Cnidaria has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. The read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 836 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 2,125 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

1,948 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 865 sites for Cnidaria, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

at least 621 references

Each of the 12,000 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. That read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 609 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Cnidaria

Credit
Frédéric Ducarme
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC0 Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itAnimalia through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Hatschek 1888)