Zoanthid Names

(zoaid.com)



Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Zoantharia
Order: Zoanthidea
Family: Zoanthidae
Genus: Zoanthus, Palythoa, Protopalythoa, Isaurus, Sphenopus, Parazoanthus, Epizoanthus, Acrozoanthus
common species: Z. sociatus, pulchellus, pacificus, mantoni. vietnamensis, coppingeri, and others
P. grandis, caribaeorum, complanata, variabilis, grandiflora, mammillosa, toxica, and others P. mutuki, and others P. swiftii, parasiticus, axinellae, gracilis, dichroicus, and others I. tuberculatus, and others S. marsupialis, and others
Common names: sea mats, button polyps, colonial polyps, colonial anemones



Zoanthids (order Zoantharia) are an order of cnidarians commonly found in coral reefs, the deep sea, and many other marine environments around the world. These animals come in a variety of different colonizing formations and in numerous colors. They can be found as individual polyps, attached by a fleshy stolon or a mat that can be created from small pieces of sediment, sand and rock. The term "zoanthid" refers to all animals within this order Zoantharia, and should not be confused with "Zoanthus", which is one genus within Zoantharia.

Zoanthids can be distinguished from other colonial anthozoans and soft coral by their characteristic of incorporating sand and other small pieces of material into their tissue to help make their structure. All known zoanthids have this unique feature, excepting the Family Zoanthidae. While the most well-known zoanthids are the zooxanthellate genera found in tropical and sub-tropical waters (primarily Zoanthus and Palythoa), many other species and genera exist, some still relatively unknown to science.
 

Palytoxin is an incredibly complex marine natural product containing 71 stereochemical elements. Palytoxin, isolated from soft coral (most notably, zoanthids), is considered to be one of the most toxic non-peptide substances known, second only to Maitotoxin.

Typical symptoms of palytoxin poisoning are angina-like chest pains, asthma-like breathing difficulties, tachycardia, unstable blood pressure, hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells), and an electrocardiogram showing an exaggerated T wave. The onset of symptoms is rapid, and death usually follows just minutes after.