page_title: Polyp (zoology)
section_title: Sexual reproduction
hierarchical_section_title: Polyp (zoology) / Reproduction / Sexual reproduction
caption_attribution_description: English: Polyps of Gonothyraea loveni colony from White Sea (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) photographed in phluorescent light with magnification 20x. Specimens were labeled with DAPI to show nuclei (in blue), phalloidin to show actin in muscles (red). Also cnydocytes in tentacles are well-distinguishable due to their yellow dyieng. Русский: Два полипа в колонии кишечнополостного Gonothyraea loveni из Белого моря, сфотографированные с помощью флуоресцентного микроскопа.English: Polyps of Gonothyraea loveni colony from White Sea (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) photographed in phluorescent light
context_page_description: A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called the pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.
context_section_description: Among sea anemones, sexual plasticity may occur.  That is, asexually produced clones derived from a single founder individual can contain both male and female individuals (ramets).  When eggs and sperm (gametes) are formed, they can produce zygotes derived from “selfing” (within the founding clone) or out-crossing, that then develop into swimming planula larvae.
  The overwhelming majority of stony coral (Scleractinia) taxa are hermaphroditic in their adult colonies.   In these species, there is ordinarily synchronized release of eggs and sperm into the water during brief spawning events. Although some species are capable of self-fertilization to varying extents, cross-fertilization appears to be the dominant mating pattern.
caption: Polyps of a colony of Cnidaria
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