Animalia (Multicellular holotrophic organisms with a diplontic life cycle)
Eumetazoa (Metazoans with organs, mouth, and permanent digestive cavity)
Radiata (Tentaculate, radiate animals with few organs. Digestive cavity, with mouth principal opening to the exterior)
Phylum Cnidaria (Free swimming or sessile, with tentacles surrounding the mouth. Specialized cells bearing stinging organoids called nematocysts. Solitary or colonial. Marine few fresh water.)
Class Anthozoa “Flower animals” Exclusively marine solitary or colonial Cnidarians in which the medusoid stage is completely absent and the polyp complex with a septate gastrovscular cavity. Extraordinary range of forms and colors (Sea anemones, hard corals soft corals gorgonians and sea pens and pansies.)
Subclass Zooantharia* (Hexacorallia)* Exclusively marine solitary or colonial polypoid (Polyps with 6 or more than eight tentacles and mesenteries, the latter typically in cycles of 6) Generally large and solitary
Ceriantipitheria
Order Antipatharia* (Black or thorny corals. Georgonian-like species with an upright plant-like colonies. Polyps arranged around an axial skeleton composed of a black horny material (protein antipithin) and bearing thorns. Largely in deep water tropical seas. Antipathes*)
Order Ceriantharia (Tube anemones Anemone-like anthozoans with greatly elongate bodies adapted for living in secreted tubes buried in sand or mud. Aboral end lacks pedal disk. Arachnanthus, Botruanthus, Ceriantheomorphe, Ceriantheopsis, Cerianthus)
No name sister taxa to the ceriantipitheria
Order Zooanthidea* (Small anemone-like anthozoans having one siphonoglyph and no skeleton but a stolonal network that may include sand and debris. Most tropical and common on reefs, Solitary or colonial. Palythoa*, Zoanthus*, Epizoanthus, Parazoanthus)
Order Actiniaria* (Sea anemones. Solitary (often large) anthozoans with no skeleton, with mesenteries in hexamerous cycles, and usually with two siphonoglyphs. Halcampoides, Edwardsia, Metridium*, Ephiactis, Stichodactyla)
Order Scleractinia* (Stony corals – closely related to the anemones. Most are colonial anthozoans secreting a heavy, external, calcareous skeleton. Hermatipic corals with algal endosymbionts. Sclerosepta arranged in hexamerous cycles. Fungia*, Acropora*, Porites*, Astrangia*, Oculina*)
Order Corallimoraria* The coral anemones or mushroom corals (Solitary species with radially arranged tentacles. Resemble true corals but lack a skeleton. Corynactis, Rhodactis, Ricordia* Riccia*)
