Zoology: Invertebrates

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medusa

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

me·du·sa / məˈdoōsə; -zə/ • n. (pl. -sae / -sē; -sī; -zē; -zī/ or -sas ) Zool. a free-swimming sexual form of a coelenterate such as a jellyfish, typically having an umbrella-shaped body with stinging tentacles around the edge. In some species, medusae are a phase in the life cycle that alternates with a polypoid phase. Compare with polyp. ∎ a jellyfish.

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"medusa." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"medusa." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-medusa005.html

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medusa

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Copyright

medusa The free-swimming stage in the life cycle of the Cnidaria. Medusae are umbrella-shaped, with tentacles round the edge and the mouth in the centre underneath. They swim by pulsations of the body and reproduce sexually. In the Hydrozoa (e.g. Hydra) they alternate in the life cycle with polyps, from which they are produced by budding. In the Scyphozoa, which includes all the common jellyfish, the medusa is the dominant form and the polyp is reduced or absent.

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"medusa." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"medusa." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-medusa.html

"medusa." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-medusa.html

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medusa

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

medusa A ‘jellyfish’; in Cnidaria, the free-swimming body type, resembling an umbrella or bell, that floats convex side uppermost. The mouth is located at the centre of the under-side of the bell and tentacles hang from its edge.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "medusa." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "medusa." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-medusa.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "medusa." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-medusa.html

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medusa

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

medusa in zoology, scientific name for the jellyfish , i.e., the free-swimming stage of various animals in the phylum Cnidaria . See polyp and medusa .