Siphonophores are free-floating or swimming colonial hydroids. All siphonophores are predatory and should be treated with respect for their venomous sting. Some of the individual animals along the length of the colony provide tentacles for defense (dactylozooids) and food capture, while others may function as swimming bells (nectophores), aid flotation (pneumatophore), provide additional defense (bracts), digest prey (gastrozooids), or serve for reproductive functions (gonozooids.) Whether siphonophores are single individuals or colonies of well-integrated polymorphic hydroid and medusoid individuals is a matter of debate among specialists.
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