Species
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumCnidaria
- ClassHydrozoa
- OrderNarcomedusae
- FamilyPolypodiidae
Habitatfreshwater
Polypodium lifecycle as a succession of a free-living stage and of a stage parasitizing the eggs of some Acipenseridae and Polyodontidae fishes. The earliest known stage is a binucleate cell, parasitizing previtellogenetic fish oocytes. Further development may last several years, leading to a convoluted didermic stolonal structure, with inverted germ layers, forming numerous inverted buds. Before fish spawning, eversion takes place and the germ layers take their normal position (ectoderm outside, endoderm inside). The stolon exits the egg and becomes fragmented into individual buds, each giving rise to a free-creeping globular stage that multiplies by longitudinal fission. Globular stages can move and feed, having an oral mouth-cone and either 24, 12, or six tentacles, according to season.("Polypodium hydriforme." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. The Gale Group, Inc, 2005. Answers.com 15 Mar. 2010. http://www.answers.com/topic/polypodium-hydriforme)
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