AI overview
Hydra is a tiny freshwater creature belonging to the cnidarian group, which also includes jellyfish and sea anemones. It matters to scientists because its simple body structure and ability to regenerate make it useful for studying how animals develop and repair themselves.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- model organism
- Parent taxon
- Hydridae
- Image
- Hydra001.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P105
- genus
- P910
- Category:Hydra
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
Hydra (/ˈhaɪdrə/ HY-drə) is a genus of small freshwater hydrozoans in the phylum Cnidaria. They are solitary, carnivorous jellyfish-like animals, native to the temperate and tropical regions. The genus was named by Linnaeus in 1758 after the Hydra, the mythical many-headed beast that was defeated by Heracles, as when the animal has a part severed, it will regenerate much like the mythical Hydra's heads. Biologists are especially interested in Hydra because of their regenerative ability; they do not appear to die of old age, or to age at all.
Habitat