Comb jelly, Monterey Bay Aquarium.
These beautiful comb jellies are oval-shaped, with eight rows of tiny comblike plates that they beat to move themselves through the water. As they swim, the comb rows diffract light to produce a shimmering, rainbow effect. Alien as it looks, a jelly’s soft shape is perfectly adapted to its environment. The animal’s thin skin stretches over a body that’s more than 95% water (no bones or shells to weigh it down). Comb jellies will eat comb jellies larger than themselves by biting off chunks with special cilia structures in their mouths. While not sea jellies, comb jellies have a close relationship as is indicated by their translucent gelatinous bodies. However, unlike most sea jellies, they do not sting.
