Dendrogramma is a monotypic
genus of
siphonophore identified in
2014 from a collection of specimens gathered in 1986. Although specimens were at first identified as two species,
D. enigmatica and
D. discoides, these were later shown to represent varieties of a single species. When
Dendrogramma was first discovered, it was speculated that the genus could not be classified into any existing
phylum. However, examination of
RNA material identified it as a siphonophore in 2016. The specimens are presumed to represent parts (
bracts) of a larger organism whose entire morphology is unknown.
This diagram, depicting the holotype, was included in the article which first described Dendrogramma.Photograph: Jean Just, Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen, and Jørgen Olesen