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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Venus’s girdle, a species of comb jelly, or ctenophore. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 8 June 2021 This little golden fellow, a bathypelagic ctenophore or comb jelly, anchors itself to the seafloor with its tentacles. Discover Magazine, 7 July 2010 To humans, this ctenophore is a beautiful light show. Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010 These parasitic amphipods bore to their host’s stomach, sometimes in large enough numbers that the victim looks more like a strainer than a jellyfish or ctenophore. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 8 June 2021 Mike Ford and Allen Collins spotted the ctenophore and recognized it as a new species. Lauren M. Johnson, CNN, 28 Nov. 2020 Both papers, which employed more extensive data and more sophisticated analysis methods than the 2008 effort, support the ctenophore-first tree. Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2015 Moroz and his collaborators published a second ctenophore genome, the sea gooseberry, in Nature in 2014. Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2015 By far the most controversial of these changes was the suggestion that ctenophores should replace sponges as the earliest branch of animals. Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2015 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ctenophore.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 20 Mar. 2023.

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