EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Polyp is a sessile life cycle stage of species who belong to phylum cnidaria. Famous examples of polyp are sea anemones and adult corals. Polyp is formed with a mouth surrounded with tentacles, referred to as a head and head is attached to the bottom with a foot-like disk.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cnidarians have two distinct morphological body plans known as polyp, which are sessile as adults, and medusa, which are mobile; some species exhibit both body plans in their lifecycle.

Detailed explanation-3: -Members of one class of cnidarians, the Anthozoa, exhibit only the polyp body form; most species of the other three classes (hydrozoans, scyphozoans, and cubozoans) alternate in their life cycles between polypoid and medusoid (free-swimming) body forms.

Detailed explanation-4: -The class Anthozoa includes all cnidarians that exhibit a polyp body plan only; in other words, there is no medusa stage within their life cycle. Examples include sea anemones (Figure 4), sea pens, and corals, with an estimated number of 6, 100 described species.