Tubularia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Tubularia'' is a genus of hydroids resembling furry pink tufts or balls at the end of long strings, spawning the
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
as either the pink-mouthed or pink-hearted hydroid.


Description

The average height of an individual colony is and the diameter of the polyp and tentacles is . ''Tubularia'' occurs either individually or in colonies, both being
dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...
and possessing large, brilliantly coloured, flowerlike hydrants.
Medusae Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals, althoug ...
remain attached to the hypostome in clusters, never being dispersed.


Life cycle

During the summer,
sperm Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...
are released into the water and attracted to female reproductive structures by means of a chemical substance. Internal fertilization occurs in the female medusoids. The fertilized
egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
s develop into actinula. These larvae develop directly into a new polyp. Although the medusa are attached to the polyp, the life cycle resembles that of typical
Cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...
n with the polyp reproducing asexually and the medusa producing egg and sperm.


Similar taxa

'' Tubularia indivisa'' may be difficult to distinguish from ''
Ectopleura larynx ''Ectopleura larynx'', or ringed tubularia, is a hydroid in the family Tubulariidae. Description ''Ectopleura larynx'' forms colonies that are usually no more than high. It is described as:The stems are tubular, with a yellowish coloured te ...
'', with the two often growing together. The stems of ''E. larynx'' are branched while those of ''T. indivisa'' are not.Characteristics." ''Ringed Tubularia - Ectopleura Larynx''. 29 May 2015. Web.


References


External links


New Jersey Scuba Diver - Plant-like Animals

Marine Life Encyclopedia

MBL Marine Organisms Database page
Tubulariidae Hydrozoan genera {{Anthoathecata-stub