CLASS HYDROZOA

GROUP 4
 Class Hydrozoa
 Hydrozoans are small relatively common cnidarians. The vast majority are
marine, but this is the one cnidarian class with fresh water
representative.
 Some hydrozoans live on the surface (Velella and Physalia) floating with
large sail like structures above water for locomotion and long tentacles
with nematocytes or stinging cells below the surface to catch food.
 Main Attributes:
 1. Internal space for digestion is the gastrovascular cavity
 2. Gastrovascular cavity has one opening, the mouth
 3. Exoskeleton of chitin
 4. Are almost entirely marine and predators
 5. Sexual reproduction produces the planula larvae
 6. Two body forms, a polyp and medusea
 7. Presence of stinging cells called Cnidocytes
 8. 7 orders consisting of 2700 species
TUBULARIA
Tubularia

• Genus of hydroids that appear to be

furry pink tufts or balls at the end of
long strings, thus causing them to be
sometimes be called “pink-mouthed”
or “pink-hearted” hydroids.
• Their average height is 40–60 mm and
the diameter of the polyp and
tentacles is 10mm.
Tubularia Larynx
Tubularia Indivisa
(Ectopleura larynx)
• A large hydroid 10-
• Ringed tubularia
15 cm in height
with a solitary
• The stems are
polyp.
tubular, with a
• The polyp and
yellowish coloured
tentacles have a
tegument and are
diameter of about
branched at the
1.5 cm. Stems are
base. The polyp
erect, clustered
colour is pale pink
together and fuse
through to red, and
with each other
consists of a central
towards the base of
circlet of oral
the colony, which
tentacles
has a tough
surrounded by paler
yellowish coloured
but larger aboral
natural outer layer.
tentacles
TUBULARIA LIFE CYCLE
 OBELIA
 a genus in the class Hydrozoa, which consists of
mainly marine and some freshwater animal species and
have both the polypand medusa stages in their life
cycle.
 The genus belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, which are
all aquatic and mainly marine organisms that are
relatively simple in structure.
 has a worldwide distribution except the high arctic and
Antarctic seas. The medusa stage of Obelia species are
common in coastal and offshore plankton around the
world.
 Obelia are usually found no deeper than 200 meters
(660 ft) from the water's surface, growing in intertidal
rockpools and at the extreme low water of spring tides.
LIFE CYCLE OF OBELIA
 Obelia Structure and Life Cycle
 Obelia alternates between polyp and
medusa stages. An entire polyp colony
stands about 1 cm tall.
 A mature medusa is about 1 mm in diameter,
and the planula is about 0.2 mm long.
 Unlike Obelia the majority of colonial
hydrozoans have medusae that remain
attached to the parental colony, and they
release gametes or larval stages through the
gonozooid.
 The medusae often degenerate and maybe
little more than gonodal specializations in
the gonozooid.
 Ecological Importance
 Cnidarians are very much important as predators in the open ocean. They help in
the smooth functioning and working of the food chain and food web of the
ocean ecosystem a lot.

 They are major constituents of coral reefs. Cnidarians are integral parts of the
marine ecosystem where they may engage in symbiotic relationships with other
organisms.