hydromedusa Meaning, Definition & Usage

Hy`dro*me*du"sa noun
Etymology
NL. See Hydra, and Medusa.
Wordforms
plural Hydromedusæ
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any medusa or jellyfish which is produced by budding from a hydroid. They are called also Craspedota, and naked-eyed medusæ. ✍ Such medusæ are the reproductive zooids or gonophores, either male or female, of the hydroid from which they arise, whether they become free or remain attached to the hydroid colony. They in turn produce the eggs from which the hydroids are developed. The name is also applied to other similar medusæ which are not known to bud from a hydroid colony, and even to some which are known to develop directly from the eggs, but which in structure agree essentially with those produced from hydroids. See Hydroidea, and Gymnoblastea.

Webster 1913