Bougainvilliidae is a family of marine hydroids in the
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
Hydrozoa
Hydrozoa (hydrozoans; ) are a taxonomic class of individually very small, predatory animals, some solitary and some colonial, most of which inhabit saline water. The colonies of the colonial species can be large, and in some cases the specialize ...
. Members of the family are found worldwide. There are sixteen accepted
genera and about ninety-three
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
.
British Database of World Flora and Fauna
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Description
Hydroids in this family can be solitary or colonial. When colonial, the hydranths or hydroid polyps are either linked by stolons or are branched. The hydranths have one or more whorls of fine tentacle
In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work ma ...
s. The gonophore
A gonophore is a reproductive organ in Hydrozoa that produces gametes. It is a sporosac, a medusa or any intermediate stage.
The name is derived from the Greek words (, that which produces seed) and (, -bearing).
Gonophores are borne on branch ...
s are free-living medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
e or are fixed