View synonyms for hydroid

hydroid

[ hahy-droid ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

noting or pertaining to that form of hydrozoan that is asexual and grows into branching colonies by budding.

the phase of a hydrozoan coelenterate that consists of polyp forms usually growing as an attached colony.

hydroid

/ ˈhaɪdrɔɪd /

of or relating to the Hydroida, an order of colonial hydrozoan coelenterates that have the polyp phase dominant
(of coelenterate colonies or individuals) having or consisting of hydra-like polyps

hydroid

/ hī′droid′ /

Any of numerous, usually colonial marine cnidarians, having a polyp rather than a medusoid form as the dominant stage of the life cycle. Hydroids have a simple cylindrical body with a mouthlike opening surrounded by tentacles. Most species form colonies with individual hydroids branching off from a common hollow tube that is probably used to share ingested food. The young develop from eggs or from buds. The most well-known hydroids are the hydras (genus Hydra ), which are atypical in being both freshwater and solitary.

Origin of hydroid¹

First recorded in 1860–65; hydr(a) + -oid

Origin of hydroid¹

C19: from hydra + -oid

The image caption has also been updated to clarify that not all hydroid animals are coastal.

The illustration shows a plant on which the hydroid Sertularia pumila is growing.

A hydroid about one inch high, growing in patches and appearing like tufts of moss on rocks between tide-marks.

There are some species which, having no hydroid or strobila state, mature without alternation of generation (metagenesis).

This hydroid is found creeping over seaweeds in tide-pools from Long Island Sound northward.

The hydroid Hydractinia polyclina often covers the exterior of such shells with a brown, velvety growth.

April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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