ctenophore

noun

cteno·​phore ˈte-nə-ˌfȯr How to pronounce ctenophore (audio) ˈtē- How to pronounce ctenophore (audio)
: any of a phylum (Ctenophora) of marine animals superficially resembling jellyfishes but having biradial symmetry and swimming by means of eight bands of transverse ciliated plates

called also comb jelly

ctenophoran noun or adjective

Examples of ctenophore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Going Deep Comb jellies, or ctenophores, are voracious predators in fragile bodies. Yasemin Saplakoglu, WIRED, 20 Oct. 2024 Comb jellies, or ctenophores, are marine invertebrates with squishy bodies propelled by hair-like cilia. Michael Irving, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2024 And deep-water ctenophores are a particularly dramatic case: Their lipids form especially exaggerated cone shapes. Rudy Molinek, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2024 If the common ancestor lacked neurons, and neurons in most animals arose after ctenophores and sponges had already branched off, then the neurons in ctenophores must have evolved independently. Cara Giovanetti, Scientific American, 4 Jan. 2024 Unlike ctenophores, however, placozoans have no neurons. Cara Giovanetti, Scientific American, 4 Jan. 2024 Recent discoveries have shown that ctenophores have no synapses, the tiny connections between neurons. Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 17 May 2023 But back in 2008, based on early information from the first sponge and ctenophore genomes, Dunn and his colleagues had proposed that comb jellies branched before sponges did. Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 17 May 2023 Venus’s girdle, a species of comb jelly, or ctenophore. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 8 June 2021

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Greek kten-, kteis + pherein to carry — more at bear

First Known Use

circa 1882, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ctenophore was circa 1882

Dictionary Entries Near ctenophore

Cite this Entry

“Ctenophore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ctenophore. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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