kiiltovia
Kiiltovia is a genus of colonial deep-sea hydrozoans described from the northeastern Pacific. It is currently monotypic, containing the species Kiiltovia luminis, named for the colony’s faint blue bioluminescence. The genus name combines kiiltävä, a word meaning shiny in Finnish, with the common taxonomic suffix -ia.
The colonies of Kiiltovia form delicate, branching networks composed of translucent, gelatinous internodes bearing small individual
Kiiltovia has been found on hard substrates in hadal to mesopelagic zones, at depths roughly between 500
Taxonomically, Kiiltovia is placed within the class Hydrozoa. Its precise family assignment remains unresolved, with molecular
Ecology and life history remain only partly understood. Kiiltovia likely reproduces by polypal budding, with medusoid