ephyra

invertebrate zoology

Also known as: ephyrae

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

An ephyra is a free-swimming larva of a scyphozoan jellyfish. It is formed by transverse fission of a scyphistoma and grows into a medusa. Jellyfish, belonging to the class Scyphozoa, are planktonic marine invertebrates. Their life cycle typically includes a sessile polyp stage (scyphistoma) that buds off young medusae, each developing from an ephyra. While the term "jellyfish" can also refer to other cnidarians with a medusoid body form, scyphozoan jellyfish are the familiar disk-shaped creatures found in oceans worldwide.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

4 Britannica Sources

ephyra
jellyfish
cnidarian - Annotated classification
ephyrula

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

jellyfish
…upper end, with each such ephyra growing into an adult. The adults are either male or female, but in some species they change their sex as they age. In many species, normal fusion of egg and sperm results in an embryo that is brooded in the gut of the adult…
Read More
…upper end, with each such ephyra growing into an adult. The adults are either male or female, but in some species they change their sex as they age. In many species, normal fusion of egg and sperm results in an embryo that is brooded in the gut of the adult…
Read More
cnidarian
Reproduction and life cycles
… (scyphopolyp) produces immature medusae (ephyrae) by asexual fission at its oral end. This process, called strobilation, results in eight-armed, free-swimming ephyrae.
Read More
… (scyphopolyp) produces immature medusae (ephyrae) by asexual fission at its oral end. This process, called strobilation, results in eight-armed, free-swimming ephyrae.
Read More