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An order of pelagic Hydrozoa including species which form complex free-swimming communities composed of numerous zooids of various kinds, some of which act as floats or as swimming organs, others as feeding or nutritive zooids, and others as reproductive zooids. See Illust. under Physallia, and Porpita.…

Belonging to the Siphonophora. -- n.

The part which in some Siphonophora bears the male gonophores.

A kind of zooid of Siphonophora which has an elongated or even vermiform body, with one tentacle, but no mouth. See Siphonophora.

One of the free-swimming sexual zooids of Siphonophora.

One of the branches bearing the female gonophores, in certain Siphonophora.

One of the flat, leaflike, protective zooids, covering other zooids of certain Siphonophora.

e Acalephæ; one of the classes of coelenterates, including the Hydroidea, Discophora, and Siphonophora.

A sheath which surrounds the base of the lasso cells in the Siphonophora.

One of the zooids of certain Siphonophora, having somewhat the form, and the essential structure, of the bell of a jellyfish, and acting as a swimming organ.

That portion of the axis which bears the nectocalyces in the Siphonophora.

A genus of large oceanic Siphonophora which includes the Portuguese man-of-war.

An order of Siphonophora which includes Physalia.

An order of Siphonophora, furnished with an air sac, or float, and a series of nectocalyces. See Illust. under Nectocalyx.

The division of Siphonophora which includes the Physalia and allied genera; -- called also Pneumatophoræ.

A genus of bright-colored Siphonophora found floating in the warmer parts of the ocean. The individuals are round and disk-shaped, with a large zooid in the center of the under side, surrounded by smaller nutritive and reproductive zooids, and by slender dactylozooids near the margin. The disk contains a central float,…

One of the Siphonophora.

A cavity in the primary nectocalyx of certain Siphonophora. See Illust. under Nectocalyx.

with moisture; as, swimming eyes. Swimming bell (Zoöl.), a nectocalyx. See Illust. under Siphonophora. -- Swimming crab (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of marine crabs, as those of the family Protunidæ, which have some of the joints of one or more pairs of legs flattened so as to serve as fins.…

One of a peculiar kind of zooids situated on the polyp-stem of certain Siphonophora. They somewhat resemble the feeding zooids, but are destitute of mouths. See Siphonophora.