Oceans 4Ever

Hi Ocean Lovers,

We weren’t sure we would do an FFF today, because we’re feeling worried about the future of oceans, due to the oil spill.

But, we decided it’s better to get you fired up about freaky fish than sit around and mope.

The sea gooseberry, aka pleurobrachia pileus, is a member of the Phylum Ctenophora, which as a group are often called “comb jellies,” because the eight rows of tiny cilia they use for swimming look like…you guessed it, combs.

But there’s one problem with their nickname: sea gooseberries are not related to jellyfish AT ALL. Could have fooled us!

These comb jellies have two long tentacles that can retract and store themselves in special side pouches on a gooseberry’s body. Amazing!

If you have never seen a sea gooseberry in action or in photos, check out this video. The comb rows it uses to swim might put you in a trance if you stare too long.

Freaky, but beautiful.

Have a great weekend, and please start thinking thinking about how you can help ocean creatures recover from this horrible accident (and you can help, no matter where you live or how old you are).

~Alexa

Tweet This Post