Siphonophores—Dream Teams of the Deep Sea

In the October–December 2025 issue of Kids Answers magazine, we set sail with the Portuguese man o’ war. This jellyfish-like creature is a siphonophore (si-FAH-noh-for), a colonial organism that is made up of several genetically identical parts called zooids (ZOH-ids). Each of the Portuguese man o’ war zooids looks unique and serves a different purpose for the animal, but they all work together to help the man o’ war survive—kind of like the organs inside your body.

Because siphonophores are marine animals, God created their kind with all other sea creatures on day five of creation week about 6,000 years ago.

The Portuguese man o’ war isn’t the only siphonophore that lives in earth’s oceans. Let’s dive in to discover what other cool colonial creatures live in the ocean’s depths.

Common Siphonophore

The common siphonophore (Nanomia bijuga) is abundant in oceans all around the world. It can reach lengths of about 12 inches long and can usually be found at the surface of the ocean down to depths of about 2,300 feet.1

The common siphonophore is made up of many zooids in a long chain, connected by a stem. The zooids at the front of the chain “swim” by contracting and expanding as they push out water, pulling along the other zooids.

God created siphonophores with the traits they would need to adapt to life in a fallen world. In a no-longer-perfect creation, these creatures need defenses to fight off predators and special tools to catch their prey.

God made each zooid to serve a special purpose, like eating, reproducing, or defending the creature against predators.

Casey Dunn's photo, licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Giant Siphonophore

The giant siphonophore (Praya dubia) is sometimes said to be one of the longest animals on earth. It can reach lengths of 130 feet long—longer than a blue whale!

The giant siphonophore lives in the deep-sea region of the ocean, where sunlight does not reach. But that’s not a problem! This long creature is bioluminescent (bi-oh-loo-muh-NESS-unt), which means it makes its own light.2

Like other siphonophores, this giant guy is made up of zooids. Each zooid has its own job—catching prey, digesting food, swimming, reproducing, or defending the creature against threats.

Catriona Munro, Stefan Siebert, Felipe Zapata, Mark Howison, Alejandro Damian-Serrano, Samuel H. Church, Freya E.Goetz, Philip R. Pugh, Steven H.D.Haddock, Casey W.Dunn, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

String Jellyfish

The string jellyfish (Apolemia uvaria) is not a true jellyfish, though it does have stinging tentacles like a jellyfish. It can reach lengths over 90 feet long and live down to 3,280 feet below the ocean’s surface.

A string jellyfish has two parts. One part of the animal is made up of zooids that contract and expand to propel it along. The bottom part is made up of the zooids that do everything else: eat, defend, and reproduce.3

Filippo Fratini, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Deep Sea Dream Teams

God created each siphonophore to be made up of many zooids. Working together, the zooids help the whole colony survive and thrive, even in some of the deepest parts of the ocean—now that’s teamwork!

Footnotes

1. “Common Siphonophore,” MBARI, November 7, 2023, https://www.mbari.org/animal/common-siphonophore/.
2. “Giant Siphonophore,” MontereyBayAquarium.org, accessed August 25, 2025, https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/giant-siphonophore/.
3. “String Jellyfish,” Institute of Marine Research, February 25, 2025, https://www.hi.no/en/hi/temasider/species/string-jellyfish/.