Cnidaria · cnidarians

Giant siphonophore

Praya dubia

Prayidae · prayid siphonophoresIUCN: Not evaluated
Giant siphonophore
Photo: Catriona Munro et al. · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A deep-sea colonial animal that can rival a blue whale in length.

Fun factIt hunts by spreading its stinging tentacles like a drifting fishing net.

Waters
Worldwide
Depth zone
Twilight zone, 200–1,000 m, Deep sea & continental slope
Diet
Small crustaceans & fish
Size
Up to 40 m long

Classification

Cnidaria › Hydrozoa › Siphonophorae › Prayidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Cnidaria cnidarians
    • Radially symmetric bodies with one opening that is both mouth and anus
    • Stinging cells (cnidocytes) fire tiny harpoons (nematocysts)
    • Two body forms: an attached polyp and a swimming bell (medusa)
  3. Class Hydrozoa hydrozoans
    • Mostly small, often colonial animals with both polyp and medusa stages
    • Medusae have a shelf of tissue (velum) under the bell
    • Includes hydroids, fire corals, and siphonophores
  4. Order Siphonophorae siphonophores
    • Floating colonies of specialized individuals (zooids) that work as one animal
    • Different zooids swim, feed, sting, or reproduce
  5. Family Prayidae prayid siphonophores
    • Deep-water siphonophores driven by paired swimming bells
    • Can form extremely long, string-like colonies
  6. Genus Praya
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  7. Species Praya dubia Giant siphonophore

Closest relatives in the guide