Stauromedusae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Photo] Stauromeduse from Ernst Haeckel's 1904 Kunstformen der Natur (The 48th plate from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904), depicting organisms classified as Stauromedusae.)

Stauromedusae, or the stalked jellyfishes, is an order of jellyfish within the Cnidaria phylum that are unique in that they do not enter the medusa stage, instead remaining polyps throughout their lives. After the larvae crawl across the sea floor and find a suitable place, they attach themselves to what is usually rock or algae to develop. Unlike most jellyfish that practice strobilation, or the process of dividing themselves into body segments, which become new individuals, the Stauromedusae order develops directly into the adult. Although conventionally an order under the Scyphozoa class, recent evidence has suggested that they be elevated to a taxon equivalent of Scyphozoa and Cubozoa, which would be the Staurozoa class.

Families
Cleistocarpidae
Eleutherocarpidae
Kyopodidae
Tesseranthidae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stauromedusae

The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.