genus of invertebrate marine animals of the class Hydrozoa (phylum Cnidaria). The genus, widely distributed in all the oceans, is represented by many species. The animal begins life as a polyp—a tentacled, stalklike form resembling a small sea anemone attached to the ocean bottom or some other solid surface. The polyp asexually produces medusae, or jellyfish. Obelia medusae release sperm or eggs into the surrounding water, and the resulting ciliated larva eventually metamorphoses to produce a branching colony of polyps.