Ctenophora

noun

A small phylum closely related to the Cnidaria because the body plan is made up of mesoglea and gastrodermis. They are all pelagic organisms which swim by the co-ordinated beating of transverse rows of cilia or ctenes which are organised into discrete bands.

characterized by eight rows of cilia, which are used for locomotion. The cilia in each row are arranged to form a stack of combs, also called comb plates, or ctenes.

Pronounced "ten-o-four" in American English. Ctenophores are fairly simple animals that live only in marine waters; they can be found in most marine habitats, from polar to tropical, inshore to offshore, and from near the surface to the very deep ocean. There are about 100-150 species of ctenophores throughout the world's ocean, although most of these are poorly known.