noun
- The nutritive zooid or feeding polyp of a hydroid colony, typically bearing tentacles and a mouth.
Usage: biology; zoology; technical
Examples
- The hydranth extends its tentacles to capture small organisms from the water.
- Each hydranth in the colony is responsible for feeding the entire structure.
- The hydranth's mouth opens to ingest prey particles.
- Hydranths are specialized for nutrition, unlike the reproductive zooids nearby.
- Under the microscope, the hydranth's tentacle arrangement was clearly visible.