Cestida

Cestida
Cestida
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Ctenophora
Class: Tentaculata
Order: Cestida
Family: Cestidae
Gegenbaur, 1856
Genera
  • order of comb jellies. It has one family, Cestidae, with two genera: Cestum and Velamen, each containing one species.

    • Cestum veneris Lesueur, 1813
    • Velamen parallelum (Fol, 1869)

    Unlike other comb jellies, the body of cestids is greatly flattened, and drawn out into a long ribbon-like shape. The two tentacles are greatly shortened, and two of the four ciliated comb rows are reduced. The unusual body form allows the animals to swim by means of muscular undulation, as well as by using their cilia. The largest species, belonging to the genus Cestum, can reach 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length.

    References

    Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. p. 176. ISBN 0-03-056747-5.