Feeding and functional morphology of the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis mccradyi

In the laboratory, specimens of Mnemiopsis mccradyi caught prey during vertical foraging when their preoral lobes were expanded. The site of prey entrapment depended mostly on prey size and activity. Relatively small inactive nauplii were caught mostly by the tentacles which number in the thousands. Larger (1–2 mm) more active copepods were caught on the inner surfaces of the expansive preoral lobes by viscous mucus. The lobes generally closed in response to contact by active copepod prey, thus reducing the possibility of escape. Prey were transported from the lobes, by cilia, directly to the mouth, or to the labial grooves and then to the mouth.