


SEA WALNUT or WARTY COMB (Mnemiopsis leidyi) ©Lars Johan Hansson
The warty comb jelly or sea walnut is a species of comb jelly, originally native to the western Atlantic coastal waters. They are small animals, having a maximum body length of roughly 7–12 centimetres (3–5 in) and a diameter of 2.5 centimetres (1 in)…but for the really interesting stuff, read below…
Credit: Lars Johan Hansson. The stealthy predator Mnemiopsis leidyi, also known as the sea walnut, uses tiny hairs, called cilia, to create a current which prey don’t notice until they are sucked into its mouth region, surrounded by two large oral lobes. The sea walnut swims using fused cilia, which diffract light in many colors in this photo.
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