Porifera and Cnidaria Lab Notes

A series of flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to Porifera and Cnidaria based on laboratory notes.

Porifera

A group of basal metazoans that includes sponges.

Cnidaria

A group of diploblastic organisms that includes hydroids, jellyfish, anemones, sea pens, corals, and their relatives.

Euplectella

A genus of sponges that belong to the class Hexactinellida, known for its six-rayed siliceous spicules.

Archeocyathids

Fossil sponges from the early Cambrian, characterized by a central cavity and septa, and lacks spicules

Stromatoporoids

Likely Poriferans characterized by bumps (mamelons) containing canals, and ranged from Middle Ordovician to the Late Devonian.

Demospongiae

A class of sponges that are softer in texture and may contain calcareous spicules.

Corallite

The skeletal structure formed by a single polyp in corals.

Tabula

Horizontal partitions added as corallites grow in corals.

Rugosa

An order of extinct corals characterized by horn-like structures.

Scleractinia

Modern hard corals that have a distinct conical shape.

Septa

Radial vertical sheets found in corals that help to define the internal structure.

Coral Reefs

Important ecosystems formed by corals that document sea-level changes.

Anoxic Environment

A marine environment with low oxygen levels, conducive to fossil preservation.

Uranium-decay series

A method used to date corals and understand past sea levels.

Pleistocene

The geological epoch during which significant changes in sea level occurred.

Montastrea annularis

A modern coral species used by Peltier and Fairbanks to study sea level changes.