Class: Cnidaria
This phylum includes the jellyfish, hyroids, sea anemones and corals. The phylum has been represented since the Precambrian Era with over 9000 living species. It is divided into three classes. The only ones with a true exoskeleton are the corals. They have no circulatory or respiratory systems. Their digestive system is inside a body sac. Asexual reproduction is common, although they can reproduce sexually. Most have tentacles which have stinging cells. These animals have nerve cells, skin, and connective tissues. The horn corals are a common fossilized representative of the Cnidaria phylum in Kansas. This phylum was previously named Coelenterata. Most are marine and lack power of movement, although the jellyfish are mobile.
Class Protomedusae (late Precambrian to Ordovician)
This class is made up of one genus which is a jellyfish-like animal, with body divided into lobes. There is no fossil found in Kansas due to no exposure of the subcrop of these ages of rocks.
Class Scyphozoa (late Precambrian to Recent)
Scyphozoans are true jellyfish whose body is made up by a gelatinous bell. This bell is divided into the stomach and four pouches. Only one order is known to have had a skeleton, the Conularida. The genus Conularia is found in Kansas. It has cone-shaped to pyramidal shells.
Class Protomedusae (late Precambrian to Ordovician)
This class is made up of one genus which is a jellyfish-like animal, with body divided into lobes. There is no fossil found in Kansas due to no exposure of the subcrop of these ages of rocks.
Class Scyphozoa (late Precambrian to Recent)
Scyphozoans are true jellyfish whose body is made up by a gelatinous bell. This bell is divided into the stomach and four pouches. Only one order is known to have had a skeleton, the Conularida. The genus Conularia is found in Kansas. It has cone-shaped to pyramidal shells.
Class Anthozoa (late Precambrian to Recent)
Anthozoans are usually marine and include sea anemones, corals, and soft corals. They may be solitary or colonial animals. The corals are the only Anthozoans usually found in the fossil record because they secreted exoskeletons. The body of a coral is called a corallite. It can be divided into calice, septum, and base. Horn corals are comprised of single corallite, whereas colonial corals are comprised of many corallite fused together. Common fossil corals in Kansas include Lophophyllidium, a horn coral about one inch long; Aulopora, a colonial coral which attaches itself to other surfaces; Syringopora, a chain coral; and Caninia, a large horn coral which reaches lengths of four to five inches.
Anthozoans are usually marine and include sea anemones, corals, and soft corals. They may be solitary or colonial animals. The corals are the only Anthozoans usually found in the fossil record because they secreted exoskeletons. The body of a coral is called a corallite. It can be divided into calice, septum, and base. Horn corals are comprised of single corallite, whereas colonial corals are comprised of many corallite fused together. Common fossil corals in Kansas include Lophophyllidium, a horn coral about one inch long; Aulopora, a colonial coral which attaches itself to other surfaces; Syringopora, a chain coral; and Caninia, a large horn coral which reaches lengths of four to five inches.