• Marine, free swimming, pelagic thaliacean, polymorphic colonial form.

• Alternation of generations – Sexually reproducing solitaria phase and asexually reproducing gregaria phase.

• Solitaria phase: Body is delicate, transparent and barrel shaped.

• Encircling the body are 8 circular muscle bands.

• A free swimming tailed tadpole larva.

• Three different kinds of zooids are found in a colony – Gastrozooids, phorozooids and gonozooids.

• Life cycle is complex.