Ctenophores

What are ctenophores? Ctenophores - pronounced 'teen-o-for' or 'ten-o-for' - are more commonly known as comb jellies. They comprise a group of gelatinous zooplankton found in all the world's seas. There are about 150-200 described species; most are holopelagic (that is, they live in the open ocean), but new species continue to be discovered in blue-water and deep-sea regions. Most ctenophores are transparent or translucent, and range in size from millimeters up to two meters in length, although most are in the few centimeter range. Some of the more common animals are the sea gooseberry (genus Pleurobrachia), the sea walnut (genus Mnemiopsis) and the Venus' girdle (genus Cestum). Most of these beautiful and exquisite animals are not very well studied because they are either difficult to obtain or extremely delicate (or both).