Dominic Stone
Corals are a collection of individual animals, each called a polyp, which are grouped together with a colony of other polyps via a common calcium exoskeleton. Corals have muscles, albeit primitive ones, and some nerve-like tissues. They have contractile epithelial cells, called myoepithelial cells, which are packed with contractile fibrils and are functionally indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Do corals have muscles? | Yes, albeit primitive |
| Do corals have muscle tissue? | Yes |
| Do corals have true muscles? | No |
| Do corals have contractile cells? | Yes |
| Do corals have a nervous system? | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
Corals are animals, not plants
Corals are members of the animal kingdom, and as such, they have a nervous system. They are not singular-celled organisms, and they are capable of response and controlled motion. This means that they can move in a controlled way, rather than simply drifting or floating like plants do.
The fact that corals have muscle-like cells and a nervous system further supports the idea that they are animals and not plants. Plants do not have muscles or a nervous system, and they are not capable of controlled motion in the same way that corals are.
In addition, corals have evolved these muscle-like cells as early steps in their evolutionary physiology. This suggests that corals have been developing and adapting over time, which is another characteristic of animals. Plants, on the other hand, do not typically show this kind of evolutionary development of muscle-like cells.
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Corals are a collection of individual animals called polyps
Corals do not have the typical muscle structure of other animals, but they do have muscle tissue. They have contractile cells that respond as muscles do in all other animals. These are called myoepithelial cells, or myoneme cells, and they are packed with contractile fibrils. They are functionally indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
Corals also have a nervous system, which means they are capable of response and controlled motion.
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Corals have contractile cells that respond like muscles
Corals are a collection of individual animals, each called a polyp, and are not singular-celled organisms. They do not have the typical muscle structure of other animals, but they do have a nervous system and contractile cells that respond as muscles do in all other animals. These contractile cells are called myoepithelial cells or myoneme cells. They are packed with contractile fibrils, giving them a function that is indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
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Corals have a nervous system
Corals do not have the typical muscle structure of other animals, but they do have contractile cells that respond as muscles do in all other animals. These contractile cells are called myoepithelial cells.
Corals are members of the animal kingdom, so it follows that they have some sort of nervous system. They are capable of response and controlled motion.
Some cnidarians, particularly large anemones and some jellyfish, have modified myoepthelial cells so packed with contractile fibrils that they are functionally indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
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Corals have muscle tissue
Corals are not singular-celled organisms, but they are also not multi-cellular organisms in the same way that other animals are. They are a collection of individual animals, and each singular organism is called a polyp. Polyps are grouped together with a colony of other polyps via a common calcium exoskeleton.
The muscle-like contractile cells of corals are an early step in their evolutionary physiology. Some cnidarians, particularly large anemones and some jellyfish, have modified myoepithelial cells so packed with contractile fibrils that they are functionally indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
Corals are members of the animal kingdom and are therefore capable of response and controlled motion.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, corals have muscles. Corals are a collection of individual animals, each called a polyp, and are not singular-celled organisms.
Corals do not have the typical muscle structure of other animals, but they do have contractile cells that respond as muscles do in all other animals. These are called myoepithelial cells.
No, only some corals have muscles. Some cnidarians, particularly large anemones and some jellyfish, have modified myoepthelial cells so packed with contractile fibrils that they are functionally indistinguishable from true muscle cells.
