Mnemiopsis
Sign in to saveAlso known as sea walnut, warty comb jelly
Mnemiopsis leidyi, the warty comb jelly or sea walnut, is a species of tentaculate ctenophore (comb jelly). It is native to western Atlantic coastal waters, but has become established as an invasive species in European and western Asian regions. Three species have been named in the genus Mnemiopsis, but they are now believed to be different ecological forms of a single species M. leidyi by most zoologists.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- monotypic taxon
- Parent taxon
- Bolinopsidae
- Image
- Sea walnut, Boston Aquarium.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- taxon name
- Mnemiopsis
- taxon rank
- genus
- Commons category
- Mnemiopsis
- taxonomic type
- Mnemiopsis leidyi
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
9 sectionsContents
- Description and ecology
- As an invasive species
- 1980s – Black Sea
- 1999 – Caspian Sea
- 2006 – North and Baltic Seas
- Genomics
- Neurobiology
- References
- External links
Mnemiopsis leidyi, the warty comb jelly or sea walnut, is a species of tentaculate ctenophore (comb jelly). It is native to western Atlantic coastal waters, but has become established as an invasive species in European and western Asian regions. Three species have been named in the genus Mnemiopsis, but they are now believed to be different ecological forms of a single species M. leidyi by most zoologists.
==Description and ecology== Mnemiopsis have an oval-shaped and transparent lobed body, with eight rows of ciliated combs that run along the body vertically and glow blue-green when disturbed. They have several feeding tentacles. Unlike cnidarians, Mnemiopsis does not sting. Their body comprises 97% water. They have a maximum body length of roughly and a diameter of .
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mnemiopsis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.