Hydra | |
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Hydra budding | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Cnidaria |
Class: | Hydrozoa |
Order: | Anthoathecata |
Family: | Hydridae Dana, 1846 |
Genus: | Hydra Linnaeus, 1758[1] |
Species[1] | |
List
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Hydra (/ˈhaɪdrə/ HY-drə) is a genus of small freshwater hydrozoans of the phylum Cnidaria. They are native to the temperate and tropical regions.[2][3] The genus was named by Linnaeus in 1758 after the Hydra, which was the many-headed beast of myth 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.