Porpitidae

The chondrophores or porpitids are a small group of hydrozoans in the family Porpitidae. Though it derives from an outdated name for this lineage, some find the term chondrophore still useful as a synonym for members of the family Porpitidae – porpitids – when discussing the two genera contained in Porpita and Velella, to avoid confusion with the near-identical name of the former.

They all live at the surface of the open ocean, and are colonies of carnivorous, free-floating hydroids. The chondrophores look like a single organism, but are actually colonial animals, made up of orderly cooperatives of polyps living under specialized sail-structures. The colony's role in the plankton community is similar to that of pelagic jellyfish.