Here's something fun I learnt today. Turns out the Beroe comb jelly can swallow prey that is up to two times its size!
And it looks pretty cool too! In a way, it reminded me how white cells swallow pathogens.
Here's some live action footage, the good part is at about 00:40
These jellies are commonly known as the cigar comb jellies and can be found in all oceans around the world, from the surface waters down to the deep sea.
Depending on the species, their size varies from a few mm to up 16 cm long. The species in the video is Barea Ovata and with a length of up to 16 cm, falls in the latter category.
In case you wonder, digestion is quite fast, as Barea Ovata can eat Under optimal conditions, Beroe ovata can eat upto four times its body weight each day, with a maximum daily growth of 0.37 to 0.66 cm. Crazy!
Beroe ovata is a predator, opening its mouth wide and sucking in prey, sometimes as big or bigger than itself. The mouth is then closed and the prey digested in the gastric cavity. Its prey consists mostly of other comb jellies, mainly sea gooseberries such as Hormiphora plumosa and Pleurobrachia pileus.
Here's a link to Wikipedia in case you'd like to learn more about the species.
And in case you didn't have enough, here's another video showing some other ctenophore species swallowing their relatives. Equally... uncomfortable to watch 😄
Ok friends this is it for today. Stay tuned, your Wikipedia of useless facts (that's me) will soon return with more 😄
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
