Cestum+veneris

//Cestum veneris//

Class: Tentaculata Order: Cestida  Family: Cestidae // Cestum veneris //, also known as Venus’ Girdle, has a ribbon-like body shape and can grow up to 1.5 meters in length and 3 inches wide. Their bodies are flat and two rows of cilia that run along one side of its body. They also have two tentacles that are attached to a groove at the oral edge of their bodies. Venus’ Girdle can be found in the epipelagic zone of marine environments like in tropical and subtropical waters of north Atlantic, Mediterranean, and western Pacific.

Venus’ Girdle eats small crustaceans, mollusks, copepods, and small zooplankton. They use their tentacles to capture the prey and transport it into their mouth. The cilia are then used to transport the prey into the digestive tract.

Venus’ Girdle, like other ctenophores, is hermaphroditic. They produce both sperm and eggs. The sperm and eggs are released from their bodies and fertilize in the water.

When //C. veneris// is disturbed or in danger, they move in a snake-like motion by body to swim faster.

Mnemiopsis leidyi Home