I dont like doing people's homework but this was one of my questions.....so here is the answer- Polyps could have formed from larvae of mudusae that became permanentely attached to a surface.
Obelia
No, the freshwater hydra does not have a medusa stage in its life cycle. The hydra belongs to the class Hydrozoa, which typically do not have a medusa stage like other cnidarians such as jellyfish. Instead, hydras reproduce asexually by budding.
The medusa stage is the free-swimming phase in the life cycle of cnidarians, such as jellyfish. Its primary function is reproduction; medusae produce gametes that facilitate sexual reproduction, leading to the formation of zygotes. Additionally, the medusa stage allows for dispersal and movement through the water, enabling the organism to colonize new areas and find food. Overall, it plays a crucial role in the lifecycle and ecological success of cnidarians.
In a word, medusa.Linnaeus coined the term medusa in 1752, referring to the free swimming, umbrella shaped stage of jellies. His reference was to the Greek myth of Medusa, whose hair was comprised of venomous snakes that resembled the stinging tentacles typically trailing behind this form of jelly. Not all cnidarians have a medusa stage, such as anemones, corals, and stalked polyps. However, all species that do have such a stage, are included in the sub-phylum, Medusozoa.
The word here may be Medusa, a snake-tressed gorgon of Greek mythology. The name medusa is also applied to the free-swimming stage of marine cnidarians (jellyfish, stinging nettles).
Cnidarians have two main body forms: the medusa form, which is free-swimming and umbrella-shaped, and the polyp form, which is stationary and tube-shaped. Medusae have tentacles around the edge and a central mouth, while polyps have a columnar body with tentacles surrounding a central mouth.
The class of cnidarians that typically only live as polyps is the Anthozoa. This class includes sea anemones and corals, which exist primarily as polyps and do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
The alternation of generations in cnidarians involves two different stages in their life cycle: a polyp stage and a medusa stage. This impacts their reproductive cycle by allowing for both asexual reproduction through polyps and sexual reproduction through medusae. This cycle helps cnidarians adapt to different environments and maximize their reproductive success.
Cnidarians live in an aquatic habitat where they stay their whole lives. Cnidarians also have two forms in its life cycle, the polyp is the first stage. This is like a sea anemone, basically it is anchored to the ground and must wait till it matures before evolving into its medusa form, which is like a jellyfish. Some polyp's have developed the ability to move from where they are anchored though, but it is unusual. Polyp and Medusa are found in mostly all waters, the water currents in the oceans have made it possible for them to inhabit all areas in todays oceans. There are also many different types of cnidarians.
Hydra - the polyp, anchored with a stalk, tentacles up; and medusa, the jellyfish, swimming free, tentacles down. All cnidarians have both stages, like larva and adult, but they spend more time in one of them and are known as that stage, for example anemones and jellyfish. Anemones have a tiny jellyfish dispersal stage, and jellyfish have a tiny polyp reproduction stage.
Cnidarians are divided in 3 main groups: the antozoan, syphozoans and cubozoan. The anthozoans are sea anemones and coral and cubazona are jellyfish. Most do not move around, but if necessary they move to get away from predators; the ocean current carries them. But, cubazonas, such as jellyfish, propel themselves to move by opening and closing their bell slowly.
Medusa is a stage in life cycle of Cnidarians eg. Obelia in which medusae are produced by budding in blastostyl.Medusa possess sex organs i.e. testes and ovaries which produce gametes i.e. sperms and eggs which fuse to form zygote which develops in second stage of life cycle called a Polyp . Possession of two alternating stage in life cycle of Cnidarians is called Metagenesis .