Ctenophora comprise a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming, and they are the largest animals to swim with the help of cilia.
Beroidae is a family of ctenophores or comb jellies more commonly referred to as the beroids. It is the only known family within the monotypic order Beroida and the class Nuda. They are distinguished from other comb jellies by the complete absence of tentacles, in both juvenile and adult stages. Species of the family Beroidae are found in all the world's oceans and seas and are free-swimmers that form part of the plankton.
Lobata is an order of transparent marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum of Ctenophora in the class Tentaculata, and are commonly referred to as comb jellies or sea gooseberries. There are currently 19 extant known species in the order of Lobata. Members of Lobata exhibit a compressed body in the vertical plane and a pair of oral lobes. They are known to inhabit marine pelagic surfaces and the marine shores.
Sabellidae, or feather duster worms, are a family of marine polychaete tube worms characterized by protruding feathery branchiae. Sabellids build tubes out of a tough, parchment-like exudate, strengthened with sand and bits of shell. Unlike the other sabellids, the genus Glomerula secretes a tube of calcium carbonate instead. Sabellidae can be found in subtidal habitats around the world. Their oldest fossils are known from the Early Jurassic.
Cydippida is an order of comb jellies. They are distinguished from other comb jellies by their spherical or oval bodies, and the fact their tentacles are branched, and can be retracted into pouches on either side of the pharynx. The order is not monophyletic, that is, more than one common ancestor is believed to exist.
Mertensia ovum, also known as the Arctic comb jelly or sea nut, is a cydippid comb jelly or ctenophore first described as Beroe ovum by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1780. It is the only species in the genus Mertensia. Unusually among ctenophores, which normally prefer warmer waters, it is found in the Arctic and adjacent polar seas, mostly in surface waters down to 50 metres (160 ft).
Ocnus planci is a species of sea cucumber in the family Cucumariidae. It is native to the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean.
The Venus girdle is a comb jelly in the family Cestidae. It is the only member of its genus, Cestum, and is also the largest of all known ctenophores.
Beroe ovata is a comb jelly in the family Beroidae. It is found in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has been introduced into the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea. It was first described by the French physician and zoologist Jean Guillaume Bruguière in 1789.
Bolinopsis infundibulum, commonly known as the common northern comb jelly, is a species of comb jelly in the family Bolinopsidae. It is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and was first described by the Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller in 1776.
Pleurobrachia pileus is a species of comb jelly, commonly known as a sea gooseberry. It is found in open water in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and was first described by the Danish zoologist Otto Friedrich Müller in 1776.
Coeloplana astericola, the creeping comb jelly, is a species of benthic comb jelly from the tropical western Indo-Pacific region that lives as an episymbiont on starfish such as Echinaster luzonicus.
Pawsonia saxicola, the sea gherkin, is a species of sea cucumber in the family Cucumariidae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Paraleptopentacta elongata is a species of sea cucumber in the family Cucumariidae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. It is an infaunal species, occupying a burrow in the seabed, from which its anterior and posterior ends project.
Hormiphora is a genus of comb jellies of the family Cydippidae. The genus was erected by Louis Agassiz in 1860.
Euplokamis is a genus of ctenophores, or comb jellies, belonging to the monotypic family Euplokamididae. It shares the common name sea gooseberry with species of the genus Pleurobrachia. After being originally described by Chun (1879), the family Euplokamididae was expanded by Mills (1987) due to the discovery of a new species, Euplokamis dunlapae. Further research indicated that Euplokamis should be identified from Mertensiidae due to the rows of combs and some compression. They may also be distinguished from the genus Pleurobrachia due to their more elongated shape. Additionally, various adaptations of Euplokamis have been observed such as the use of tentacles for movement/feeding, a complex nervous system, and bioluminescent capabilities. Other characteristics including a defined mesoderm, lack of stinging cells, developmental differences, and symmetry supported the reclassification of these organisms.
Beroe gracilis is a species of comb jelly in the family Beroidae. It is a free-swimming species found in the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Hormiphora cucumis is a species of comb jelly in the family Cydippidae.
Hormiphora californensis is a species of comb jelly in the family Cydippidae. Called the California sea gooseberry, is a comb jelly, or ctenophore, common in California coastal waters. Ctenophores have eight sets of cilia running down their side, which they use to propel themselves through the oceans in search of food.
Callianira bialata is a species of comb jelly within the family Mertensiidae. Comb jellies are gelatinous marine invertebrates characterized by rows of ciliary plates, known as comb rows, which they use for locomotion. Specific morphological details about C. bialata are limited in the provided sources.
