- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Cnidaria
- Class: Hydrozoa
- Subclass: Hydroidolina
- Order: Siphonophorae
- Suborder: Physonectae
- Family: Physophoridae
- Scientific name: Physophora hydrostatica
- Norwegian: -
Characteristics:
This beautiful siphonophore colony can reach a total length of 8-12 cm. The float, shaped like a series of bells on top of each other, constitutes a significant fraction of the total colony length. In the bottom of the float there is a gas-emitting pore used to control the buoyancy of the colony. The banana-shaped, orange or violet colored tentacles may cause painful stings. At the base of the float there are long threads packed with small animals with specialized tasks in the colony.
Habitat:
This siphonophore, sometimes called the hula skirt siphonophore, is known as a deep-sea species, but like all other slow-swimmers, currents may bring it to the surface.
Distribution:
This is probably a cosmopolitan, known to be widespread in the Atlantic, Pacific and the Indian Ocean.