Can a comb jelly choose whether to reproduce as a larva or grow up first? 🪼
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
October 13, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Can a comb jelly choose whether to reproduce as a larva or grow up first? 🪼
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
Cool new work from @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social et al. 🪼🥚
ALT: Life stages of Mnemiopsis leidyi starting at one-cell transitioning to the larval (cydippid) stage (top left). As it grows, it loses its tentacles & transitions to adult (lobate) stage. At various stages, it can produce eggs (arrows). 🦑
ALT: Life stages of Mnemiopsis leidyi starting at one-cell transitioning to the larval (cydippid) stage (top left). As it grows, it loses its tentacles & transitions to adult (lobate) stage. At various stages, it can produce eggs (arrows). 🦑
Can a comb jelly choose whether to reproduce as a larva or grow up first? 🪼
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
Our new preprint shows that in Mnemiopsis leidyi, this depends on the density of other comb jellies. A story of surprising developmental plasticity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵 1/4
📸 @beziostudio.bsky.social
October 13, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Cool new work from @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social et al. 🪼🥚
ALT: Life stages of Mnemiopsis leidyi starting at one-cell transitioning to the larval (cydippid) stage (top left). As it grows, it loses its tentacles & transitions to adult (lobate) stage. At various stages, it can produce eggs (arrows). 🦑
ALT: Life stages of Mnemiopsis leidyi starting at one-cell transitioning to the larval (cydippid) stage (top left). As it grows, it loses its tentacles & transitions to adult (lobate) stage. At various stages, it can produce eggs (arrows). 🦑
Soto-Angel et al. (2026-10 preprint, bioRxiv)
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability
doi.org/10.64898/202...
October 13, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Soto-Angel et al. (2026-10 preprint, bioRxiv)
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757825v1
October 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757825v1
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757825v1
October 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Precocious reproduction in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi is modulated by conspecific density and food availability https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757825v1
Rocky shores pose dangerous threat to gelatinous macroplankton. While mesoplanktonic organisms thrive among the strong coastal wawes, the large ctenophore’s days are numbered. N Adriati#planktonon#Mnemiopsisis bloom
October 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Rocky shores pose dangerous threat to gelatinous macroplankton. While mesoplanktonic organisms thrive among the strong coastal wawes, the large ctenophore’s days are numbered. N Adriati#planktonon#Mnemiopsisis bloom
Invázió páncél helyett kocsonyával: a Mnemiopsis leidyi invazív bordásmedúza ballasztvízzel került át Amerika partjaitól a Fekete-tengerre, majd elözönlötte a Földközi-tengert, hatalmas nyom#zooplanktonraa a #zooplanktonra és közvetve a halászatra. Már az É-Adrián is gyakori.
October 13, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Invázió páncél helyett kocsonyával: a Mnemiopsis leidyi invazív bordásmedúza ballasztvízzel került át Amerika partjaitól a Fekete-tengerre, majd elözönlötte a Földközi-tengert, hatalmas nyom#zooplanktonraa a #zooplanktonra és közvetve a halászatra. Már az É-Adrián is gyakori.
You’re thinking of Turritopsis dohrnii (the real immortal jellyfish). Not to be confused with Mnemiopsis leidyi (the floating blubber bag with a transient asshole) 🤭
October 8, 2026 at 7:23 PM
You’re thinking of Turritopsis dohrnii (the real immortal jellyfish). Not to be confused with Mnemiopsis leidyi (the floating blubber bag with a transient asshole) 🤭
You don't have to go far to find alien life... Just look in our oceans 🪼 Enjoy these out-of-this-world, adult lobate comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi) on #CtenophoreCtuesday! Credit video to Mari Bergsvåg & @joanjsoto.bsky.social at @unibergen.bsky.social ✨ #ctenophore #scicomm #combjelly #MarineLife
October 6, 2026 at 11:32 AM
You don't have to go far to find alien life... Just look in our oceans 🪼 Enjoy these out-of-this-world, adult lobate comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi) on #CtenophoreCtuesday! Credit video to Mari Bergsvåg & @joanjsoto.bsky.social at @unibergen.bsky.social ✨ #ctenophore #scicomm #combjelly #MarineLife
Happy #CtenophoreDay!
Ctenophores are back. Freshly sampled Mnemiopsis leidyi from Sotra, Norway. These beautiful comb jellies continue to surprise us and are helping reveal new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems. 🌊✨
#CombJellies #Evolution #Neuroscience
1/2
Ctenophores are back. Freshly sampled Mnemiopsis leidyi from Sotra, Norway. These beautiful comb jellies continue to surprise us and are helping reveal new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems. 🌊✨
#CombJellies #Evolution #Neuroscience
1/2
October 4, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Happy #CtenophoreDay!
Ctenophores are back. Freshly sampled Mnemiopsis leidyi from Sotra, Norway. These beautiful comb jellies continue to surprise us and are helping reveal new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems. 🌊✨
#CombJellies #Evolution #Neuroscience
1/2
Ctenophores are back. Freshly sampled Mnemiopsis leidyi from Sotra, Norway. These beautiful comb jellies continue to surprise us and are helping reveal new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems. 🌊✨
#CombJellies #Evolution #Neuroscience
1/2
October 3, 2026 at 11:44 AM
These are all progeny of Bob the sea walnut comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) 🪼🥚
September 27, 2026 at 4:28 PM
These are all progeny of Bob the sea walnut comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) 🪼🥚
Enjoy some lab-grown comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi)! #MarineLife
Here are some comb jelly larvae (i.e. cydippids) to brighten your day 🪼 Two months ago, our colony got bottlenecked to one individual (Bob) and has since grown to over 500! #ctenophore #scicomm
September 21, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Enjoy some lab-grown comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi)! #MarineLife
And here’s a link to a Wikipedia article about warty comb jellyfish for additional reference
Mnemiopsis - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 20, 2026 at 1:08 AM
And here’s a link to a Wikipedia article about warty comb jellyfish for additional reference
Here’s a picture of a warty comb jellyfish for reference. I don’t have any pictures of my ex for reference.
September 20, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Here’s a picture of a warty comb jellyfish for reference. I don’t have any pictures of my ex for reference.
It’s really kinda neat because unlike cnidarian jellies which have a fixed place where a nearly invisible pore opens up to do the same thing. Mnemiopsis can just unzip whenever, wherever, so to speak
September 20, 2026 at 1:22 AM
It’s really kinda neat because unlike cnidarian jellies which have a fixed place where a nearly invisible pore opens up to do the same thing. Mnemiopsis can just unzip whenever, wherever, so to speak
Amazing Ctenophores!
"Over the past decade, ctenophores have helped answer long-standing questions about fundamental biology, from how early nervous systems evolved to the origins of the mesmerizing phenomenon of bioluminescence."
🧪 #Science #SciComm #Biology
www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
"Over the past decade, ctenophores have helped answer long-standing questions about fundamental biology, from how early nervous systems evolved to the origins of the mesmerizing phenomenon of bioluminescence."
🧪 #Science #SciComm #Biology
www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
![Image Source:
https://www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-arent-just-beautiful-theyre-biological-wonders-20260916/
Using volume electron microscopy, Burkhardt’s lab identified 17 unique cell types in Mnemiopsis leidyi — 11 of which were previously unknown — in an all-important structure called the aboral organ (center). Together, these cells help ctenophores sense light, pressure, and gravity, and the aboral organ is tightly integrated with a continuous network of fused neurons that forms the nervous system. “Having more neurons condensed at a certain place, that’s one theory [for] how the very first brains evolved,” Burkhardt said. The research was published in March 2026(opens a new tab) in Science Advances.
Credit
Alexandre Jan, Michael Sars Centre/University of Bergen](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5p6nccydle7rv2gcczzz5tw5/bafkreibmbawmdiz3mv56oxcwtvsypbeojxr4qjxyz33rrvazcznszf4pt4)
September 17, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Amazing Ctenophores!
"Over the past decade, ctenophores have helped answer long-standing questions about fundamental biology, from how early nervous systems evolved to the origins of the mesmerizing phenomenon of bioluminescence."
🧪 #Science #SciComm #Biology
www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
"Over the past decade, ctenophores have helped answer long-standing questions about fundamental biology, from how early nervous systems evolved to the origins of the mesmerizing phenomenon of bioluminescence."
🧪 #Science #SciComm #Biology
www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
Besides a Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi), here's a Common Northern Comb Jelly (Bolinopsis infundibulum). This fragile being phosphoresces at night & the larger individuals can be found as deep as 1km. The sea at Mill Bay #Salcombe #Devon on 25 June was 18°C, air 24. #ctenophore #ctenophores #invert
September 7, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Besides a Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi), here's a Common Northern Comb Jelly (Bolinopsis infundibulum). This fragile being phosphoresces at night & the larger individuals can be found as deep as 1km. The sea at Mill Bay #Salcombe #Devon on 25 June was 18°C, air 24. #ctenophore #ctenophores #invert
Also at Mill Bay #Salcombe was the much less flamboyant #ctenophore, the alien #invasivespecies, Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) native to US East Coast & 1st recorded in UK at The Wash in 2014, arriving in Europe via ballast water in Black Sea. Voracious predator of zooplankton, fish eggs & larvae.
September 7, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Also at Mill Bay #Salcombe was the much less flamboyant #ctenophore, the alien #invasivespecies, Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) native to US East Coast & 1st recorded in UK at The Wash in 2014, arriving in Europe via ballast water in Black Sea. Voracious predator of zooplankton, fish eggs & larvae.
Also at Blackpool Sands #Devon, thrilled to see my 1st Sea Gooseberries (Pleurobrachia pileus), less so the alien #invasivespecies Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) introduced from West Atlantic in 1980s, likely via ship ballast in Black Sea, which competes with the Gooseberry. #ctenophore #combjelly
September 6, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Also at Blackpool Sands #Devon, thrilled to see my 1st Sea Gooseberries (Pleurobrachia pileus), less so the alien #invasivespecies Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) introduced from West Atlantic in 1980s, likely via ship ballast in Black Sea, which competes with the Gooseberry. #ctenophore #combjelly
From Nancy Woods re the Sea Walnut aka Mnemiopsis leidyi: "It is truly a marvel of nature—a spineless organism that constructs a brand-new sphincter every time it needs to dump an absolute mess on the world. I’m officially renaming the Republican caucus the Sea Walnut Party."
September 4, 2026 at 7:33 PM
From Nancy Woods re the Sea Walnut aka Mnemiopsis leidyi: "It is truly a marvel of nature—a spineless organism that constructs a brand-new sphincter every time it needs to dump an absolute mess on the world. I’m officially renaming the Republican caucus the Sea Walnut Party."
Read the original research published in 2024: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🦑 #ctenophore
August 29, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Read the original research published in 2024: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 🦑 #ctenophore
Znanstvenici s Instituta Ruđer Bošković (IRB) objašnjavaju da dolazak stranih vrsta u Jadransko more ne znači automatski i opasnost. Problem nastaje tek kada te vrste postanu invazivne – odnosno kada se uspješno nastane, počnu nekontrolirano širiti, otimati hranu i stanište domaćim vrstama te […]
Nove vrste stižu u Jadran: Znanstvenici s Ruđera otkrivaju kada točno postaju stvarna prijetnja
**Znanstvenici s Instituta Ruđer Bošković (IRB) objašnjavaju da dolazak stranih vrsta u Jadransko more ne znači automatski i opasnost. Problem nastaje tek kada te vrste postanu invazivne – odnosno kada se uspješno nastane, počnu nekontrolirano širiti, otimati hranu i stanište domaćim vrstama te mijenjati morski ekosustav.**
Jedan je primjer morski orah (Mnemiopsis leidyi), rebraš podrijetlom iz zapadnog Atlantika koji danas živi i u Jadranu. Hrani se zooplanktonom, važnim izvorom hrane za ribe, pa vrlo velike populacije mogu povećati konkurenciju za isti izvor hrane.
### Projekt ALIENA: Rani sustav upozoravanja
Kako bi se promjene uočile na vrijeme, IRB provodi projekt **ALIENA** , vrijedan **2,62 milijuna eura** (financiran kroz program Interreg Italija–Hrvatska). Znanstvenici na terenu kombiniraju molekularne metode i računalne modele kako bi pratili širenje stranih vrsta i razvili sustav ranog upozoravanja.
### Kako građani mogu pomoći?
U praćenje Jadrana mogu se uključiti svi. Ako tijekom kupanja ili ronjenja primijetite neobičan organizam, znanstvenici pozivaju da ga **fotografirate i prijavite putem aplikacije _Crafting the Sea_**.
D.G.
www.morski.hr
August 30, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Znanstvenici s Instituta Ruđer Bošković (IRB) objašnjavaju da dolazak stranih vrsta u Jadransko more ne znači automatski i opasnost. Problem nastaje tek kada te vrste postanu invazivne – odnosno kada se uspješno nastane, počnu nekontrolirano širiti, otimati hranu i stanište domaćim vrstama te […]
🔗 to Ryan et al (2013) "The Genome of the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and Its Implications for Cell Type Evolution": www.science.org/doi/full/10....
🔗 to Moroz et al (2014) "The ctenophore genome and the evolutionary origins of neural systems": www.nature.com/articles/nat...
#CtenophoreFunFacts 🦑
🔗 to Moroz et al (2014) "The ctenophore genome and the evolutionary origins of neural systems": www.nature.com/articles/nat...
#CtenophoreFunFacts 🦑
August 29, 2026 at 2:59 PM
🔗 to Ryan et al (2013) "The Genome of the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and Its Implications for Cell Type Evolution": www.science.org/doi/full/10....
🔗 to Moroz et al (2014) "The ctenophore genome and the evolutionary origins of neural systems": www.nature.com/articles/nat...
#CtenophoreFunFacts 🦑
🔗 to Moroz et al (2014) "The ctenophore genome and the evolutionary origins of neural systems": www.nature.com/articles/nat...
#CtenophoreFunFacts 🦑
I now understand how quickly a comb jelly bloom can happen. Mnemiopsis are nuts. We had one larval comb jelly (aka cydippid) a month ago and now we are up over 100. 😳
We're celebrating #CtenophoreCtuesday with some #CtenophoreFunFacts 🤓 Did you know the highly invasive sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) devastated the Black Sea ecosystem & fisheries in the 1980s? With no natural predators, it flourished with densities reaching up to 400 specimens per cubic meter. 1/2
August 28, 2026 at 5:11 PM
I now understand how quickly a comb jelly bloom can happen. Mnemiopsis are nuts. We had one larval comb jelly (aka cydippid) a month ago and now we are up over 100. 😳