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seagrass lagoon

Hydroids Class Hydrozoa

Often mistaken for seaweeds, these beige, branching organisms are animals! They are colonial hydroids which are made up of tiny polyps that gather plankton with their tentacles. While some hydroids can sting painfully, these do not seem to harm.

A closer look

quick facts
10-12cm long with many branches, common in the seagrass lagoon

Classification:
Class Hydrozoa
Phylum Cnidaria

See also ...
Cnidarians in general
Bryozoans are sometimes mistaken for hydroids and visa versa

Links
Shallow-water hydroids on Aquascope of the Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory: some photos and titbits on the animals.
Hydroids on the Sea Slug Forum by Dr Bill Rudman: as hydroids are among the stuff that nudibranchs eat, there is some interesting information on them on this site.

Other references

Barnes, Robert D. & Ruppert, Edward E., 1996. Invertebrate Zoology. Harcourt College Publishers, 6th Edition. pp. 1056, G-1-16, I-1-30.
Pechenik, Jan A., 2000. Biology of the Invertebrates. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Singapore. 578 pp.

a companion website to the chek jawa guidebook website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com

a companion website to the chek jawa guidebook
website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com