Common Name: Deep Sea Siphonophore
Scientific Name: Marrus orthocanna
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hydrozoa
Order: Siphonophora
Family: Agalmidae
Genus: Marrus
Species: M. orthocanna
The Deep Sea Siphonophore are long creatures. They can get as long as 50 meters. The majority of them, are long and thin, and they consist of mostly gelatinous material. Some species, have dark orange or red digestive systems that are transparent tissue like. They are mainly fragile and can break into tiny pieces if under the slightest force.
The habitat of the Deep Sea Siphonophore is described to be just the open sea. Very rarely are any found on the shore. Some species, like the Portuguese Man O'War, live at the surface of the sea. Siphonophores are predators of the sea. They eat their prey by capturing them in their tentacles. They mostly eat crustaceans and small fish.
All zooids in a given siphonophore, are descended from a single fertilized egg. Then, the egg will develop into a protozooid, a polyp that rises though budding to all the other zooids of the colony.
Author: Taighler R
Date: 05/2008
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