Question

Comb jelly depicted here belongs to which following class of Ctenophora?

• A. Tentaculata
• B. Nuda
• C. Scleroctenophora
• D. None of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is A Tentaculata

Comb jellies have eight rows of tiny comb-like plates which help in movement by incessant beating of the plates. Most comb jellies can detect chemical traces in the water that allow them to locate food and many are equipped with a gravity-sensitive structure, called as statocyst. It gives them a sense of up and down in the water. The image shown belongs to the class Tentaculata of comb jellies. The organism is Pleurobrachia commonly known as sea gooseberry. It shows the presence of tentacles. It is often seen spinning around its own center, twirling the tentacles around its body. On each tentacle there is a lateral row of fine filaments with a sticky substance, to make sure that prey does not get loose.

Nuda is another class of comb jellies which shows the absence of tentacles. The common example of this is Beroe.

Scleroctenophora is an extinct class of ctenophore, known from the Chinese Maotianshan shales of Yunnan.

Thus, the correct answer is option A.