Key Difference – Porifera vs Coelenterata
Kingdom Animalia includes about 36 animal phyla of multicellular, eukaryotic and heterotrophic animals. Porifera and Coelenterata are two primitive animal phyla of kingdom Animalia. The phylum porifera includes aquatic animals with cellular level organization, which are also known as sponges. Phylum coelenterata includes radially symmetrical aquatic animals with simple tissue level organization. The key difference between porifera and coelenterata is that members of the porifera phylum possess a lot of pores or holes all over the body while members of the phylum coelenterata possess only one opening in the body which works as mouth or anus.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Porifera
3. What is Coelenterata
4. Side by Side Comparison – Porifera vs Coelenterata
5. Summary
What is Porifera?
Porifera is the name of an animal phylum that consists of sponges, and multicellular animals with cellular level organization. However, it may be fair enough to wonder whether they are animals. In fact, they are classified as animals since there are no cell walls around their body cells. Additionally, poriferans are heterotrophs, made of live cells and showing sexually reproductive mechanisms.
Porifera have a lot of pores on their body and the name Porifera infact means ‘pore bearer’ in Latin. Poriferans do not have vital organ systems. However, the nutrients required to sustain life are taken inside and transported through the body using their pores. Sponges are attached to a substrate, which means that they are sessile animals. They can live in both freshwater and saltwater. However, the majority of poriferans lives in the sea and few in freshwater. Sponges are found in a range of habitats including coastal zones and deep-sea bottoms. Their bodies have neither a particular shape nor symmetry, but it is developed in such a way that it increases the efficiency of water flow through the body. Despite the inferiority of their body organization, poriferans are highly diversified with 5,000 – 10,000 species and have been evolved since 490 – 530 million years.
Figure 01: Porifera
What is Coelenterata?
Coelenterata is a phylum which includes aquatic animals which are radially symmetrical, multicellular with tissue level organization. This phylum includes amazingly beautiful coral reefs, electrifying jellyfish, and many other interesting oceanic creatures. Coelenterates are also referred as cnidarian. There are about 10,000 species of cnidarians and all of them are unique due to the presence of the cnidocytes. They are the first animals that reached the tissue level organization. They are found in freshwater and marine water, both in colony form and solitary form. Some species are free living while some are attached to a surface. They possess tentacles for locomotion, offense, defense and capturing foods. They also possess a nerve net and one opening in the body. Many species of coelenterata show polymorphism and both sexual and asexual reproduction methods. Some species capable of regeneration.
Cnidarians do not have systems for respiration and circulation, but the cellular diffusion of contents takes place according to osmotic pressure gradients inside their bodies. Matagenesis, the alternation of two generations with sexual individual (Medusa) and the asexual individual (polyp), is a characteristic feature of them. However, the overall body plan of all the cnidarians is always radially symmetrical. The medusae are usually free-swimming animals, while polyps are sedentary.
There are three main groups of coelenterate named hydrozoa, schyphozoa, and anthozoa.
Figure 02: Coelenterate
What is the difference between Porifera and Coelenterata?
Porifera vs Coelenterata |
|
| Porifera is a phylum of kingdom Animalia which includes multicellular heterotrophic eukaryotic aquatic animals with a cellular level organization. They are known as sponges. | Coelenterata is a phylum of kingdom Animalia which includes multicellular, heterotrophic and eukaryotic aquatic animals with simple tissue level organization. |
| Motility | |
| Members of the phylum Porifera are nonmotile. | Members of phylum Coelenterata are capable of locomotion. |
| Organization | |
| They show cellular level organization. | They show tissue level organization. |
| Pores | |
| They have numerous holes or pores in the body. | They have only one opening in the body. |
| Exoskeleton | |
| They possess an exoskeleton. | They do not possess exoskeletons. |
| Organs | |
| They do not have organs or nerve cells. | They possess a simple nervous system and simple organs. |
Summary – Porifera vs Coelenterata
Porifera and coelenterata are two phyla of kingdom Animalia which include primitive aquatic animals. Both phyla consist of animals living in fresh and marine water. The main difference between porifera and coelenterata is that porifera members possess many pores in their bodies while coelenterate members possess only one opening in the body. Porifera animals do not show symmetry and locomotion while coelenterata animals show radial symmetry and locomotion.
Reference:
1. “Phylum Coelenterata.” What is Phylum Coelenterata? | Tutorvista.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017.http://www.tutorvista.com/content/biology/biology-iii/animal-kingdom/phylum-coelenterata.php
2. Myers, Phil. “Porifera (sponges).” Animal Diversity Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017. <http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Porifera/>.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Reef3859 – Flickr – NOAA Photo Library” By Twilight Zone Expedition Team 2007, NOAA-OE. – NOAA Photo Library: reef3859 (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Pink/Orange Sea Anemone” by Jason Pratt (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
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