Morphologie; Beutefang; Bildung mehrerer Schwärmer durch exogene Knospung, Umwandlung des gesamten Zellkörpers in Schwärmer durch reaktive Knospung, Metamorphose der Schwärmer zu gestielten Zellen; Konjugation: Einanderzuneigen benachbarter Partner zur Ausbildung sogenannter "Konjugationsfortsätze", Verschmelzung der Berührungsflächen, Resorption des kleineren Partners.

Ephelota gemmipara is one of the largest forms among the suctoria. Its cell body sits on a long stalk which is firmly connected to the base. Ephelota gemmipara possesses tentacles of two types - long tapering, prehensile tentacles and short, tubular, sucking tentacles. The prey is seized by several prehensile tentacles and carried to the sucking tentacles. Multiplication is by the development of swarmers. Several swarmers are formed at once by exogenous budding. When living conditions deteriorate, the whole cell body can be transformed into swarmers by reactive budding. The coffee-bean shaped swarmer changes into a stalked cell by metamorphosis. For sexual reproduction (conjugation) two adjacent partners lean towards each other developing so-called "conjugational projections". After the surfaces of contact fuse, the smaller partner is resorbed by the larger.