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Hydrozoa occur in all aquatic habitats. They form part of the plankton, the hardand soft-bottom macrobenthos, and the meiofauna. They can also be symbiotic with a wide variety of animals and plants, and some are parasitic. Some hydrozoans are famous experimental animals, such as Hydra and Hydractinia. The presence of polyp and medusa stages in the life cycle of many species led to a double taxonomy that is being unified through a research project that started in the first half of the last century and is still continuing.

The present monograph assembles the most relevant knowledge on the group, with a list of all the known species and diagnoses of all supraspecific taxa.

This is an intermediate step towards the appreciation of the diversity of the Hydrozoa, the aim being to attract the curiosity of biodiversity students and to motivate them to fill the many gaps that remain in our knowledge of this fascinating group. The authors are all members of the Hydrozoan Society and this book is a product of the philosophy of the Society.