Longitudinal stolon pulsations in the colonial hydroid Dynamena pumila (Linnaeus, 1758)
М. V Lomonosov Moscow State University
Biological Faculty, Department of Invertebrates Zoology
119991 Moscow, Leninskie Gory, 1
e-mail: marf47@mail.ru
Using the method of time-lapse video microscopy it is established that the zone of longitudinal extension of the stolon coenosarc in the colonial hydroid Dynamena pumila can extend over two interstitial sites (modu¬les). The stretching occurs in the form of oscillations with a period corresponding to the growth pulsations of the stolon tip. Consequently, the growth zone is not restricted to one module of the stolon, and the main condition for longitudinal growth of the coenosarc appears to be the stretching created by the advancing growth tip, and not only by the increasing number of cells in the growth zone as the main cause of coeno¬sarc elongation.
