hydrozoan

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hy·dro·zo·an

(hī′drə-zō′ən)

Any of various cnidarians of the class Hydrozoa, including the hydras, hydroids, and siphonophores, which exhibit alternation of generations between the polyp and medusa stage or exist in only one or the other stage.

[From New Latin Hydrozōa, class name : Hydra, type genus; see hydra + -zōa, pl. of -zōon, -zoon.]

hy′dro·zo′an adj.

hydrozoan

(ˌhaɪdrəʊˈzəʊən)

(Animals) any colonial or solitary coelenterate of the class Hydrozoa, which includes the hydra, Portuguese man-of-war, and the sertularians

adj

(Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Hydrozoa

hy•dro•zo•an

(ˌhaɪ drəˈzoʊ ən)

n.

1. any freshwater or marine cnidarian of the classHydrozoa, including attached and free-swimming, often colonial, forms in which the medusa stage is reduced or lacking.

adj.

2. belonging or pertaining to the hydrozoans.

[1875–80; < New Latin Hydrozo(a) (see hydro-¹, -zoa) + -an¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

hydrozoan - colonial coelenterates having the polyp phase dominant

hydroid

cnidarian, coelenterate - radially symmetrical animals having saclike bodies with only one opening and tentacles with stinging structures; they occur in polyp and medusa forms

planula - the flat ciliated free-swimming larva of hydrozoan coelenterates

class Hydrozoa, Hydrozoa - coelenterates typically having alternation of generations; hydroid phase is usually colonial giving rise to the medusoid phase by budding: hydras and jellyfishes

hydra - small tubular solitary freshwater hydrozoan polyp

siphonophore - a floating or swimming oceanic colony of polyps often transparent or showily colored

sertularian - feathery colony of long-branched stems bearing stalkless paired polyps

References in periodicals archive ?

This corresponds to ~9% (26 of 295 species recorded) and less than 1% (26 of 3,428 species recorded) of the hydrozoan species recorded for the Argentinean Patagonia and worldwide, respectively (Oliveira et al, 2016; Schuchert, 2016), showing that the knowledge on the biodiversity of hydroids at intertidal habitats of Argentinean Patagonia is still scarce.

Faunal assemblages of intertidal hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) from Argentinean Patagonia (Southwestern Atlantic Ocean)

Indeed, several deep-sea hydrozoan jellyfish appear to have distributions spanning ocean basins (Collins et al.

Box jellyfish Alatina alata has a circumtropical distribution

But this hydrozoan, common in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, is something of a cheat.

Aging's wild side: escape artists and suicidal reproducers offer clues to how senescence evolved

The specimens were identified as the crawling medusa, Eleutheria dichotoma, which is one of a small group of hydrozoan medusae that crawls on algae rather than swimming in the plankton.

First record of the crawling medusa Eleutheria dichotoma from Victoria

The endozoic association and its diminutive tetrasporic filaments likely represent an advantageous adaptation to low incident light, which is further reduced in quality and quantity by the hydrozoan exosarc cover.

The Boulder Patch (North Alaska, Beaufort Sea) and its benthic algal flora

The discovery of green fluorescent protein in a hydrozoan jellyfish in the 1960s has provided a revolutionary tool for modern biologists, transforming our study of everything from the AIDS virus to the workings of the brain," Gruber said.

Rich World of Fish Biofluorescence Illiuminated

and others, Patterns in marine hydrozoan richness and biogeography around southern Africa: implications of life cycle strategy.

Southern Africa

For example, throughout earth history, genuine scyphozoan, hydrozoan, or cubozoan medusae are only known from [less than or equal to] 10 deposits, all of which are significant or potential Konservatlagerstatten (Young and Hagadorn 2010).

Hypothesized Cambrian medusae from Saint John, New Brunswick, reinterpreted as sedimentary structures

The 4-5mm diameter creature, technically known as a hydrozoan, is the only known animal that is capable of reverting to its juvenile polyp state.

Meet the world's only immortal creature!

The freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) a hydrozoan with a complex lifecycle and a cosmopolitan distribution.

Biological Sciences

The team studied the largest-known population of black corals in the world, along with other unique coral colonies in the area, including red hydrozoan corals, solitary stony corals and various gorgonian sea fans.

New Zealand

We studied the swimming behavior of two species of gelatinous zooplankton, a comb jelly Mnemiopsis mccradyi (Phylum Ctenophora) and a hydrozoan jellyfish medusa Nemopsis bachei (Phylum Cnidaria), under the altered gravity conditions generated aboard NASA's KC-135 aircraft.