Ctenophora
| Comb jellies Temporal range: Cambrian Stage 3–Recent |
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| "Ctenophorae" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Subkingdom: | Eumetazoa |
| Phylum: |
Ctenophora Eschscholtz, 1829 |
| Classes | |
Ctenophora (/tᵻˈnɒfərə/; singular ctenophore, /ˈtɛnəfɔːr/ or /ˈtiːnəfɔːr/; from the Greek κτείς kteis 'comb' and φέρω pherō 'carry'; commonly known as comb jellies) is a phylum of invertebrate animals that live in marine waters worldwide. Their most distinctive feature is the ‘combs’ – groups of cilia which they use for swimming – they are the largest animals that swim by means of cilia. Adults of various species range from a few millimeters to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in size. Like cnidarians, their bodies consist of a mass of jelly, with one layer of cells on the outside and another lining the internal cavity. In ctenophores, these layers are two cells deep, while those in cnidarians are only one cell deep. Some authors combined ctenophores and cnidarians in one phylum, Coelenterata, as both groups rely on water flow through the body cavity for both digestion and respiration. Increasing awareness of the differences persuaded more recent authors to classify them as separate phyla.
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