Category: Comb Jellies view all from this category

Description 4" (102 mm) high, 2" (51 mm) wide. Oval, somewhat flattened, broad at top end. Milky-transparent; iridescent. 2 large lobes longer than half the total body length. 1 pair of short tentacles in sheaths between lobes, 4 ribbonlike structures around mouth, between lobes. 8 rows of comb plates, 2 extending down each lobe nearly to end, 1 down each structure.

Habitat In shallow water; penetrates into brackish waters.

Range South of Cape Cod to the Carolinas; common in Chesapeake Bay as far north as Baltimore.

Discussion Leidy's Comb Jelly has been used in marine laboratories to study bioluminescence and problems of regeneration. Its relative, McCrady's Comb Jelly (M. mccradyi), ranges from Florida through the West Indies. It is about the same size and shape as M. leidyi, but is greenish-tan, less transparent, and sometimes has 2 brown spots on each side.