Venus girdle

(Redirected from Cestum veneris)

The Venus girdle (Cestum veneris) is a comb jelly in the family Cestidae. It is the only member of its genus, Cestum,[1] and is also the largest of all known ctenophores.

Venus girdle
Photographed in Hawaii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Ctenophora
Class: Tentaculata
Order: Cestida
Family: Cestidae
Genus: Cestum
Lesueur, 1813
Species:
C. veneris
Binomial name
Cestum veneris
Lesueur, 1813

Description

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Venus girdles resemble transparent ribbons with iridescent edges. They may grow up to a metre in total length. Canals run the length of the ribbon in which bioluminesce activates when disturbed.[2]

Distribution

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This species is pelagic and is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide in midwater.[2]

Ecology

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These animals swim horizontally using muscular contractions as well as the beating of the comb rows. The oral edge leads. They eat small crustaceans.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Cestum veneris Lesueur, 1813". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Wrobel D. & Mills C. 2003. Has no bell, no tentacles,found in the Mediterranean Sea. Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates: a guide to the common gelatinous animals. Sea Challengers. ISBN 0-930118-23-5