what is polyp?

Question

phylum cnidaria

Answer 1

A polyp is the body form which has the hollow body at the bottom, the mouth on the dorsal side, and the tentacles surrounding the dorsal mouth.

Examples include the sea anemone, coral, hydra, and some life stages of some jellyfish.

The other body form of cnidarians is called a medusa. ... like the usual adult jellyfish with its mouth on the ventral side.

Some people assume that the polyps don't move around, but most of them can move, though it may be slow.

Answer 2

Cnidaria is a phylum containing some 11,000 species of apparently simple animals found exclusively in aquatic, mostly marine, environments.

Cnidarians get their name from cnidocytes, which are specialized cells that carry stinging organelles called cnidocysts. As for the etymology, the word Cnidaria comes from the Greek word "cnidos", which means "stinging needle". The corals, which are important reef-builders, belong here, as do the familiar sea anemones, jellyfish, sea pens, sea pansies and sea wasps.

Answer 3

In zoology, a polyp is one of two forms of individuals found in many species of cnidarians. The two are the polyp or hydroid and the medusa. Polyps are approximately cylindrical, elongated on the axis of the body. The aboral end is attached either to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast if the polyp is solitary, or is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly, if the polyp is part of a colony. The oral end bears the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.

Answer 4

In this case wiki is as good as anything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyp