Description: A small comb jelly with an almost spherical body that only reaches around 2 cm in size. It has two long retractable feeding tentacles that can be up to 50 cm long – and are usually 15 – 20 times the size of the body itself. One side of each tentacle has filaments that are usually visible. On the body there are eight, even, longitudinal combs that run almost from one end of the animal to the other. These combs are made up of cilia that the animal uses to swim and can produce a distinctive shimmering effect. The body is mostly transparent.

Habitat: Found in the water column, mostly commonly May – September but can be present most of the year (aside from winter months).

Distribution: Found all around Britain and Ireland.

Similar Species: Unlikely to be confused with any other species. The small spherical body with two long tentacles is distinctive.

Key Identification Features:

• Small, almost spherical body.
• Two long, retractable feeding tentacles (up to 50 cm).
• Eight even combs running almost the entire length of the body.

Distribution Map from NBN: Pleurobrachia pileus at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Pleurobrachia pileus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Pleurobrachia pileus

WoRMS: Pleurobrachia pileus at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Pleurobrachia pileus (O. F. Müller, 1776). AphiaID: 106386.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Ctenophora; Tentaculata; Cydippida; Cydippidae; Pleurobrachia