Weekly Photo Challenge: “Minimalist” Comb Jelly

“Minimalist- an artist who emphasizes extreme simplification of form and color”
 50_Minimalist
Upon a canvas of sand particles
Mother Nature
poses her beached sculpture…
Phylum – Ctenophora
the Comb Jelly.
 
98% water – 2% living cells
no: brain, lungs, gills, heart, or skeleton.
Outfitted only for feeding, propulsion,reproduction-
watery skin absorbs oxygen, sticky tentacles collect food;
stomach and canals deliver nutrients;
a few twitchy nerves undulate along ocean currents;
gonads make eggs & sperm.
 
Mother Nature’s selected role
in the design of this life composition?
Minimalist
Phylum – Ctenophora
the Comb Jelly
 

Science behind this post: 

Source: http://www.arkive.org/sea-gooseberry/pleurobrachia-pileus/
Tiny Jellyfish a Big Delight on Oregon Coast: http://www.beachconnection.net/news/gooseb050611_338.php
William Dietrich, “Natural Grace.” University of Washington Press, 2003.
 
Weekly Photo Challenge: “Minimalist“
 
 
 

14 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: “Minimalist” Comb Jelly”

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  8. So glad to hear you enjoyed this photo, Moon Dust Writer 🙂
    There is a small detail that’s maybe not so apparent at first glance. Look in the upper right section of the Sea Jelly… can you see the tentacles?
    ~Jane

  11. So that’s what those things were! Minimalist, indeed, E.g. and I could only guess they might be egg cases of some sea creature, but on closer examination we couldn’t even see any dots that would suggest eggs. So those pebble-sized blobs that littered the Oregon beaches are related to, for example, Portuguese man-o’-wars?

  12. Thank you, Dandyknife, your question and comments have prompted me to dig a bit deeper and to find out more about these small sea jellies. I believe it is a Sea Gooseberry (Pleurobrachia Sp.) Now that I see that, I will go back to correct my post. The Phylum is Ctenophora not Cnidaria. The tentacles are “sticky” not “stingy.” This little guy is not related to the “Man of War.” The two are different… as you will find out in this information I cut, pasted, and sited as follows:

    Members of the phylum Ctenophora are known as sea-gooseberries or comb-jellies, and are startlingly beautiful marine invertebrates. They are commonly mistaken for jellyfish, but belong to their own group that is totally unrelated to jellyfish. Pleurobrachia pileus has a transparent spherical body bearing two feathery tentacles, which can be completely drawn back into special pouches. The name comb-jelly refers to the eight rows of hair-like cilia present on the body, which are known as comb-rows. The rhythmic beating of these cilia enables the animal to swim, and also refracts light, creating a multi-coloured shimmer.

    Despite their delicate, almost ghostly appearance, sea-gooseberries are voracious predators, feeding on fish eggs and larvae, molluscs, copepod crustaceans, and even other sea-gooseberries. Prey is caught by the long tentacles, which act as a net and bear adhesive cells known as colloblasts. The tentacles are then ‘reeled in’ and the prey is passed to the mouth.

    This species is hermaphroditic. Breeding occurs from spring to autumn; the eggs and sperm are released into the water and fertilisation therefore occurs externally. The larva, known as a ‘cydippid larva’ is free-swimming. Most individuals die following spawning. This species may be preyed upon by fish and other sea-gooseberries.

    This sea-gooseberry has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, being found widely around the world.

    This species is pelagic. It may be found in rock pools when stranded by low tides, especially in summer.

    Source: http://www.arkive.org/sea-gooseberry/pleurobrachia-pileus/

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