Pleurobrachia bachei

The Sea Gooseberry

Phylum Ctenophora
Class Tentaculata
Order Cydippida
Family Pleurobrachiidae
Genus Pleurobrachia
Species bachei

Description: Size up to 1.5 cm; transparent and irridescent; digestive tract, pharynx, stomach, tentacles and sheaths are yellow, white, pink or orange-brown in color; round or egg-shaped; two tentacles that are fringed on one side, when fully extended may reach a length of 15 cm; tentacles can retract completely; eight ctene rows that extend the full length of the body and are spaced equally;.

Habitat: Pelagic, near shore; common in large swarms. Can often be seen from docks and piers if you look hard enough.

Natural History: When the tentacles are extended, they are trailed through the water catching small crustaceans, such as fish eggs or larvae, with their Òglue cellsÓ called colloblasts. The tentacles are then contracted to wipe the prey off on the mouth. We found this ctenophore in abundance in the spring throughout the Puget Sound.