Stauromedusae

Taxobox
name = Stalked jellyfishes

---

image_size = 200px
image_caption = Stauromeduse from Ernst Haeckel's 1904 "Kunstformen der Natur"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Cnidaria
classis = Scyphozoa
ordo = Stauromedusae
ordo_authority = Haeckel, 1879
subdivision_ranks = Families
subdivision =
Cleistocarpidae
Eleutherocarpidae
Kyopodidae
Tesseranthidae

Stauromedusae, or the stalked jellyfishes, is an order of jellyfish within the Cnidaria phylum that are unique in that they do not enter the "medusa" stage, instead remaining polyps throughout their lives. After the larvae crawl across the sea floor and find a suitable place, they attach themselves to what is usually rock or algae to develop. Unlike most jellyfish that practice strobilation, or the process of dividing themselves into body segments, which become new individuals, the Stauromedusae order develops directly into the adult. Although conventionally an order under the Scyphozoa class, recent evidence has suggested that they be elevated to a taxon equivalent of Scyphozoa and Cubozoa, which would be the Staurozoa class.

References

* [http://faculty.washington.edu/cemills/Stauromedusae.html Introduction to Stauromedusae]
* [http://jellieszone.com/stauromedusa.htm Jellyzone]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Stauromedusae.html Brief classification University of Michigan]
* [http://faculty.washington.edu/cemills/Staurolist.html List of all known species of Stauromedusae]