SYNOPTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYLUM CTENOPHORA

EUKARYA>UNIKONTA>OPISTHOKONTA>ANIMALIA>DIPLOBLASTEA>CTENOPHORA

PHYLUM CTENOPHORA LINKS

The following information came from Margulis and Schwartz (1998), Buchsbaum (1938), Barnes (1980), Barnes (1984), Brusca and Brusca (2003), Hickman (1973), Hinde (2001), Nielsen (2001), Storer and Usinger (1965), and Tudge (2000).

I. SYNONYMS: Comb jellies.

II. NUMBER: > 100 species known.

III. PHYLUM CHARACTERISTICS:
- A. Structure
  - Symmetry: Biradial.
  - Body Cavity: Not present.
  - Body Covering: Epidermis, collenchyme (contains true muscle cells),
  - Support: Hydrostatic “skeleton”.
  - Digestive System: Digestive cavity open at one end. Animal is a carnivore. It captures animals with colloblasts (adhesive cells) or nematocysts(?) in one species.
  - Circulatory System: None.
  - Locomotion: Move by ciliated plates, the ctenes (text with tooltip) .
  - Excretory System: None.
  - Nervous System: Simple nerve net with a statocyst at the aboral pole.
  - Endocrine System: None.
- B. Reproduction:
  - Reproductive System: Specialized gonads. Eggs and sperm are produced.
  - Development: Determinate cleavage (text with tooltip) ; cydippid larva with some bilateral features.
- C. Ecology: Found in marine environments; generally pelagic.

LITERATURE CITED

Aleshin, V. V. and N. B. Petrov. 2002. Molecular evidence of regression in evolution of metazoa. Zh. Obshch. Biol. 63(3):195-208.

Barnes, R. D. 1980. Invertebrate Zoology. Saunders College/Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, Philadelphia.

Barnes. R. S. K. 1984a. Kingdom Animalia. IN: R. S. K. Barnes, ed. A Synoptic Classification of Living Organisms. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA. pp. 129-257.

Buchsbaum, R. 1938. Animals Without Backbones, An Introduction to the Invertebrates. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago.

Brusca, R. C. and G. J. Brusca. 2003. Invertebrates. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Mass.

Collins, A.G., P. Cartwright, C. S. McFadden, and B. Schierwater. 2005. Phylogenetic context and basal metazoan model systems. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 45:585-594.

Halanych, K. M. 2004. The new view of animal phylogeny. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics. 35:229-256. [C, L]

Hickman, C. P. 1973. Biology of the Invertebrates. The C. V. Mosby Company. Saint Louis.

Hinde, R. T. 2001. The Cnidaria and Ctenophora. In: Anderson, D.T., ed. Invertebrate zoology. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK. pp. 29-57.

Margulis, L. and K. Schwartz. 1998. Five kingdoms, an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth. 3rd Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company. New York.

Martindale, M. Q., J. R. Finnerty, and J. Q. Henry. 2002. The Radiata and the evolutionary origins of the bilaterian body plan. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 24:358-365.

Pechenik, J. A. 2005. Biology of the Invertebrates. McGraw-Hill. New York.

Podar, M., S.H.D. Haddock, M.L. Sogin, and G.R. Harbisons. 2001. A molecular phylogenetic framework for the phylum ctenophore using 18S rRNA genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 21:218-230. [C]

Ruppert, E. E. and R. D. Barnes. 1994. Invertebrate Zoology. 6th edition. Saunders. Ft Worth, TX.

Storer, T. I. and R. L. Usinger. 1965. General Zoology. 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York .

Tudge, C. 2000. The Variety of Life, A Survey and a Celebration of all the Creatures That Have Ever Lived. Oxford University Press. New York.

By Jack R. Holt and Carlos A. Iudica. Last revised: 02/02/2016

SYNOPTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYLUM CTENOPHORA

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