EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Animals from the phylum Cnidaria have stinging cells called cnidocytes.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cnidocytes (“cnidos is Greek for “stinging nettle”), common to species in the diverse phylum Cnidaria, can launch a toxic barb or blob or enable cnidarians to stun prey or deter invaders. Cnidarians are the only animals that have cnidocytes, but lots of animals have neurons, Babonis said.

Detailed explanation-3: -Cnidarians exhibit a specific characteristic – tentacles with stinging nematocytes which serve as small harpoons which react to stimuli by giving out tiny stinging cells which can poison and hook potential prey. Cnidarians do not show bones and a central nervous system, rather have a nerve net.

Detailed explanation-4: -Cnidocytes, also known as stinging cells, are specialized neural cells that typify the phylum Cnidaria (sea anemones, corals, hydroids, and jellyfish) [1, 2, 3]. These cells contain an organelle called cnida or cnidocyst, which is the product of extensive Golgi secretions.

Detailed explanation-5: -The cnidocytes – or stinging cells – that are characteristic of sea anemones, hydrae, corals and jellyfish, and make us careful of our feet while wading in the ocean, are also an excellent model for understanding the emergence of new cell types, according to new Cornell research.