Coelenterates is an obsolete collective term historically used in zoology for a paraphyletic grouping that combined Cnidaria and Ctenophora based on shared features such as a simple diploblastic body organization, a single gastrovascular cavity, and radial symmetry. Modern systematics rejects Coelenterata as a formal taxon because molecular phylogenetics and detailed morphological analyses indicate that cnidarians and ctenophores are distinct, independently branching metazoan lineages with profound differences in neuromuscular organization, cell types (e.g., cnidocytes vs. colloblasts), and developmental programs. The term now persists mainly in older literature and high-level discussions of early-diverging animal body plans.
Canadian researchers studying 450-million-year-old fossils near Quebec City have identified a new species of basal-medusozoan: Paleocanna tentaculum, a soft-bodied, tube-shaped polyp with a ring of tentacles. Closely related ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Apr 20, 2026
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Researchers have reported the discovery of a new species of jellyfish, Malagazzia michelin, marking only the second species of its genus ever found in Japanese waters. Led by Takato Izumi of Fukuyama University, the discovery ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 25, 2026
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A new study from Bar-Ilan University shows that one of sleep's core functions originated hundreds of millions of years ago in jellyfish and sea anemones, among the earliest creatures with nervous systems. By tracing this ...
Evolution
Jan 6, 2026
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Halalaimus is a microscopic nematode genus commonly found in sediment on the seafloor. It lives 1–5 cm below the sediment surface and grazes on bacteria or organic materials in the sediment.
Plants & Animals
Dec 18, 2025
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Researchers from Kumamoto University and collaborating institutions have discovered a new species of deep-sea sea anemone that builds shell-like "homes" for hermit crabs—an extraordinary case of mutualism and co-evolution ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 4, 2025
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71
A student-led research group from Tohoku University has discovered a new species of the venomous Physalia (commonly known as Portuguese man-of-war) that has never been seen before in northeast Japan. This revelation suggests ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 31, 2025
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109
A new manuscript published in the Journal of Fish Biology reveals that relationships between fish and sea anemones are more diverse than those portrayed in "Finding Nemo." Captured through breathtaking blackwater photography, ...
Ecology
Oct 7, 2025
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One of the biggest mysteries of evolution is how species first developed complex vision. Jellyfish are helping scientists solve this puzzle, as the group has independently evolved eyes at least nine separate times. Different ...
Evolution
Jun 10, 2025
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