siphonophore

Everyday

1. A siphonophore is a strange sea animal, related to jellyfish, that is really a colony of many tiny animal parts joined together and working as one body. tree →
2. Each part has its own job: some swim, some catch food, some digest it, some make young. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on ocean life it is an amazing example of teamwork in nature. The Portuguese man o' war is a famous siphonophore with stinging tentacles; some deep-sea siphonophores are longer than a blue whale, though very thin. Phrases: «a giant siphonophore», «colony of zooids».

Examples

• A siphonophore looks like one animal but is made of many tiny parts. tree →
• The Portuguese man o' war is a siphonophore, not a true jellyfish. tree →
• Scientists filmed a giant siphonophore deep under the sea off Australia. tree →
• Some siphonophores are longer than a blue whale. tree →
• Do not touch a man o' war on the beach; it can still sting. tree →
• In a siphonophore, some parts swim and some parts catch food. tree →
• Many siphonophores glow in the dark. tree →

Note

Countable. Said «SY-fon-oh-for» or «sy-FON-oh-for». The tiny parts are called zooids. Not every sea jelly is a siphonophore.