Leidy’s Comb Jelly | MoreBeach.com | Comb, Jellies, Their, Have, Water

Leidy’s Comb Jelly

Leidy’s Comb Jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi)

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Despite the name, theses jellies are not true ‘jellyfish’ and do no have dangerous stingers. The Leidy’s comb jelly is a small animal, only about four inches long, with two lobes extending beyond its oval, sac-like body. Along the outside of the body are eight rows of cilia, which are paddle-like structures that beat in the water to aid in orientation and locomotion. Although comb jellies can use their cilia to direct their body movements they are not able to propel themselves any great distances and instead float along with ocean currents. During the day, the beating cilia are visible as flashes of color and during the night they glow a brilliant green. Aside from this display, their bodies are colorless and almost invisible in the water. This is largely due to the fact that their bodies are 95% percent water; they have no circulatory system and no real brain.
Comb jellies are hermaphrodites: they have both male and female sex organs and can self-fertilize. In favorable conditions, such as when high concentrations of food are present, they can produce thousand of eggs per day. Despite their size, comb jellies are predators, feeding on fish eggs, juvenile fish, and even cannibalizing other comb jellies.
This species is native to temperate and subtropical inshore waters of North and South America, and is common in southern New England in late summer to early fall with occasional sightings in the winter. Huge swarms of comb jellies are sometimes sighted in the shallow waters just offshore.
As these comb jellies are not jellyfish, they have no dangerous tentacles that can sting you, and are safe to handle. You can even try and scoop it up with your hand or a pail to have a closer look. However, their bodies are mostly made of water and once removed from the sea water the body cannot hold its structure and will probably collapse in your hand.

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