Coelenterata

/sɪˌlɛntəˈreɪtə/ noun

Definition

A former biological classification for marine animals with hollow body cavities, including jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones.

Etymology

From Greek 'koilos' (hollow) + 'enteron' (intestine) + '-ata' (a suffix forming taxonomic names). This was once the main scientific grouping for these creatures.

Kelly Says

Scientists reclassified this group because they discovered that some animals thought to be simple relatives of jellyfish were actually evolved differently—taxonomy keeps changing as we learn more.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.