Beroe ovata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Beroe ovata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In the Black Sea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Ctenophora |
| Class: | Nuda |
| Order: | Beroida |
| Family: | Beroidae |
| Genus: | Beroe |
| Species: | B. ovata |
| Binomial name | |
| Beroe ovata | |
Beroe ovata is a comb jelly in the family Beroidae. It is found in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has been introduced into the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea. It was first described by the French physician and zoologist Jean Guillaume Bruguière in 1789.
Beroe ovata grows to a total length of about 16 cm (6 in). In shape it is roughly oval or cylindrical, but can be flattened like a mitten or deformed. At one end, known as the oral end, is the large mouth and at the other (aboral) end is a statocyst which has a sensory role and is involved in maintaining the animal's equilibrium. The body wall is composed of a gelatinous mesoglea sandwiched between two layers of cells. It is translucent and pale blue, or sometimes pale pink. On the exterior surface, eight longitudinal rows of cilia form the "combs", and it is these cilia, beating in unison, that propel the animal through the water. It usually moves with the mouth at the front but can reverse the direction of travel. This comb jelly has no tentacles.[2] The internal gastric cavity is connected to a network of canals forming a meshwork in the mesoglea.[3]
Distribution
Beroe ovata is a pelagic species and has a wide distribution in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is present in the southern Atlantic off both the coasts of Africa and of Brazil and has been observed in the northwestern Atlantic as far north as New Brunswick and the Chesapeake Bay. Its depth limit is about 100 m (328 ft) although it has been reported at a depth of 1,719 m (5,640 ft).[4][5] It has been introduced into a number of seas in Eastern Europe including the Black Sea, the Aegean, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea.[2] The species has a high salinity tolerance ranging from 1.2% in the Caspian Sea to 3.3–3.7% at the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.[5]
