planula, plural planulae, free-swimming or crawling larval type common in many species of the phylum Cnidaria (e.g., jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones). The planula body is more or less cylindrical or egg-shaped and bears numerous cilia (tiny hairlike projections), which are used for locomotion.

How do Cnidaria move?

How do cnidarians move? Since Cnidarians do not have a mesoderm, they do not have any true muscle. They move by epithelial muscular cells (cells in the epidermis that can contract and are made up myosin and actin.

What does a planula become?

The planula metamorphoses into a sessile (i.e. fixed-position), usually benthic (i.e. bottom dwelling) polyp called a 'scyphistoma' and it is the scyphistoma, still attached to the surface on which the planula settled, that produces a new free-swimming medusa.