Lobate Ctenophore | SOI

Follow the rainbow! This lobate ctenophore was spotted during the #AtacamaTrenchAncients expedition off the coast of Chilè. Some scientists are studying these comb jellies to understand the origins of neurons. In a 2023 paper, Maria Sachkova writes, “Due to the key phylogenetic position and multiple unique adaptations, the noncentralized nervous system of comb jellies has been in the center of the debate around the origin of the nervous system in the animal kingdom and whether it happened only once or twice.”
She adds that members of the animal kingdom are the only multicellular organisms with central nervous systems, and the development of the ability to adapt to an “ever-changing environment” meant evolutionary success for many creatures. While these jellies don’t have a centralized system, they possess networks and specialized sensory structures that some have speculated could produce some form of learning.
Ctenophores move via cilia or combs that diffract light, creating what looks like deep-sea rainbows as they swim through the water column. They have been around for 600 to 700 million years.
#JuneIsWorldOceanMonth #combjellies #oceanexploration #scienceatsea

[@annapruitt5546]

This looks insane, it’s beautiful and haunting and unreal haha what an interesting shape