The Portuguese man o' war, also known as the man-of-war or bluebottle, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or bluebottle, which is found mainly in the Pacific Ocean. The Portuguese man o' war is the only species in the genus Physalia, which in turn is the only genus in the family Physaliidae.
Siphonophorae is an order within Hydrozoa, which is a class of marine organisms within the phylum Cnidaria. According to the World Register of Marine Species, the order contains 175 species described thus far.
Praya dubia, the giant siphonophore, lives in the mesopelagic zone to bathypelagic zone at 700 m (2,300 ft) to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) below sea level. It has been found off the coasts around the world, from Iceland in the North Atlantic to Chile in the South Pacific.
Hydroidolina is a subclass of Hydrozoa and makes up 90% of the class. Controversy surrounds who the sister groups of Hydroidolina are, but research has shown that three orders remain consistent as direct relatives: Siphonophorae, Anthoathecata, and Leptothecata.
Leptothecata, or thecate hydroids, are an order of hydrozoans in the phylum Cnidaria. Their closest living relatives are the athecate hydroids, which are similar enough to have always been considered closely related, and the very apomorphic Siphonophorae, which were placed outside the "Hydroida". Given that there are no firm rules for synonymy for high-ranked taxa, alternative names like Leptomedusa, Thecaphora or Thecata, with or without the ending emended to "-ae", are also often used for Leptothecata.
Marrus orthocanna is a species of pelagic siphonophore, a colonial animal composed of a complex arrangement of zooids, some of which are polyps and some medusae. Swimming independently in the mid-ocean, it lives in the Arctic and other cold, deep waters. It is a colonial creature that is born from a single egg which is fertilized. Later on, a protozoan forms that eventually grows to form more duplicating members of the colony. It belongs to the order Siphonophorae and the genus Marrus, which also includes M. antarcticus, M. claudanielis, and M. orthocannoides.
Praya is a genus of marine invertebrates in the order Siphonophorae. They are colonial, but the colonies can superficially resemble jellyfish; although they appear to be a single organism, each specimen is actually a colony of Siphonophora. It contains the following species:
Prayidae is a family of marine invertebrates in the order Siphonophorae. They are colonial, and the colonies can superficially resemble jellyfish; although they appear to be a single organism, each specimen is actually a colony of Siphonophora.
Apolemia is a genus of siphonophores. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Apolemiidae.
The Diphyidae are a family of siphonophores. These are colonial siphonophores with two nectophores arranged one behind the other. The front one includes a somatocyst, while the hind one does not. The somatocyst often contains an oil droplet for buoyancy control. A nectosac in each nectophore allows the organism to swim efficiently.
Muggiaea is a genus of siphonophores in the family Diphyidae. Members of this family are colonial siphonophores with two nectophores arranged one behind the other, but in the genus Muggiaea, the posterior nectophore is absent. The anterior one has a complete dorsal ridge. The somatocyst is very close to the nectosac wall.
Muggiaea atlantica is a species of small hydrozoan, a siphonophore in the family Diphyidae. It is a cosmopolitan species occurring in inshore waters of many of the world's oceans, and it has colonised new areas such as the North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. It is subject to large population swings, and has been held responsible for the death of farmed salmon in Norway. The species was first described by J.T. Cunningham in 1892 from a specimen obtained at Plymouth, England.
Muggiaea kochii is a species of small hydrozoan, a siphonophore in the family Diphyidae.
Bathyphysa conifera, sometimes called the flying spaghetti monster, is a bathypelagic species of siphonophore in the family Rhizophysidae. It is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and off the coast of Southwestern Africa and California.
Physonectae is a suborder of siphonophores. In Japanese it is called 胞泳.
Calycophorae is a suborder of Siphonophores alongside two other suborders Physonectae and Cystonectae. This suborder includes the giant siphonophore, ; one of the longest lengthwise extant creatures (40–50m). While the Physonectae have a pneumatophore, nectophore, and a siphosome, Cystonectae lack a nectophore, and Calycophorae lack a pneumatophore. From the bell-shaped nectophores, Physonectae and Calycophorae are called Codonophores or Greek for bell-bearers. The distribution, morphology, and behaviors of Calycophorae species are vast and greatly depend on the species. Calycophoraes typically consist of two nectophores with a siphosome that have many tentacles that grow out of the siphosome. The Calycophoraes move by propelling water out of the nectophore much like how jellyfishes move. The tentacles act as fishing nets where the nematocysts on the tentacles paralyze their prey which are then later fed on. Calycophorae have three life stages, which are the larval development stage, the polygastric stage, and the eudoxid maturation stage. Each Calycophorae colony forms from one fertilized egg.
Rhodaliidae is a family of siphonophores. In Japanese they are called ヒノマルクラゲ.
Nanomia bijuga, first described by Stefano Delle Chiaje in 1844 and originally named Physsophora bijuga, is a species of mesopelagic siphonophore in the family Agalmatidae As with all members of the siphonophorae order, it is a colonial organism composed of individual zooids. N. bijuga has a fairly broad distribution, and has been observed in the coastal waters off of North America and Europe. The species has been found to occupy both epipelagic and mesopelagic depths. They utilize specialized swimming zooids for both propulsion and escape behaviors. Similar to other siphonophores, Nanomia bijuga employ stinging tentacles for hunting and defense. They primarily feed on small crustaceans, especially krill.
Abylopsis tetragona is a species of siphonophore in the family Abylidae.
Lensia is a genus of hydrozoans belonging to the order Siphonoporae and the family Diphyidae. This genus is colonial and consists of many different types of highly specialized zooids. The genus Lensia was first established in 1932 by Dr. Arthur Knyvett Totton, who would also describe and add another 11 species during his career. As of March 2023, the genus consists of only 26 described and accepted species and an additional seven uncertain species, according to the World Register of Marine Species.
