Friday, September 21, 2012

Comb jellies


I always feel like the poor Ctenophora get short-shrift in Invertebrate Zoology, in the mad dash to get through 30+ phyla in a 10-week term.  So for some extra ctenophore wisdom, this is an excellent summary by Claudia Mills.  I knew Claudia from from my days as a UW grad student doing research at Friday HarborLabs.  I have memories of her walking along the FHL dock, scooping up various jellies (hydromedusae as well as ctenophores) using a plastic beaker attached to the end of a long pole.  This is the video I showed in class, in case you want to see it again.  Its awesomeness is marred only by a minor misspelling of the critter's name.  BEROE. 
Even though I spend more time talking about Cnidaria in class than the virtually neglected ctenophores, they’re over far too quickly as well.  For a bit more on a Hydrozoan order that is unusual in entirely lacking a polyp stage, check out this videoabout Narcomedusae by our very own Riley Thompson. 

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