MOVEMENT

The muscle movement of cnidarians are controlled by nerve cells but they do not have very much control over their movement and are often moved by the ocean's current and washed up on beaches. The majority of the cnidarian's nerve cells are found around the mouth area, on the tentacles and stem of polyps and around the screen of jellies. As a medusa (jellyfish) cnidarians mainly move by jet propulsion using their mesoglea to propel the medusa forward in small bursts. As a polyp, cnidarians glide along using their substrates and mucous secretions to slide along surfaces.