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Browse the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
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Graphic: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966.

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This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.

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SEA GOOSEBERRY

(Ctenophore).

The sea gooseberries or “comb-jellies” are related to the jellyfish family, though they are zoologically a group quite distinct from common jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war. In appearance and size they are very like a completely transparent gooseberry. Between the upper and lower “poles” are eight meridional rows of “combs” consisting of tiny cilia (resembling hairs) which beat rhythmically and propel the animal through the water. It is very common in New Zealand waters, easily captured by means of a plankton net, and its characteristic method of movement makes it an interesting study when placed in a tank or jar of water.

by Richard Morrison Cassie, M.SC.(N.Z.), D.SC.(AUCK.), Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Auckland.

Co-creator

Richard Morrison Cassie, M.SC.(N.Z.), D.SC.(AUCK.), Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Auckland.