# Sea Gooseberry (*Pleurobrachia pileus*)

Sea Gooseberries are tiny, transparent creatures that live in the ocean. They look like floating jelly orbs with delicate tentacles. These beautiful animals move gracefully through the water.

- **Category:** [Invertebrate](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/invertebrate)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Marine
- **Also known as:** Pleurobrachia

![Sea Gooseberry](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771424612/objects/6394.jpg)

## Appearance

The Sea Gooseberry is a transparent, oval-shaped creature with eight rows of iridescent comb-like plates running down its sides. It often appears colourless, but these comb rows refract light, creating a rainbow shimmer.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Ctenophora
- **Class:** Tentaculata
- **Order:** Cydippida
- **Family:** Pleurobrachiidae
- **Genus:** Pleurobrachia

## Interesting facts

- If scared, Sea Gooseberries can completely retract their long, sticky tentacles!
- Their eight comb rows sparkle like tiny rainbows as they swim.
- These tiny hunters eat enormous amounts of plankton, helping to clean the ocean.
- They are not jellyfish and don't sting, despite their similar appearance!

## Special abilities

- **Comb Propulsion:** Sea Gooseberry can glide through water using tiny, hair-like combs that beat in waves, helping them move gracefully.
- **Sticky Tentacles:** Sea Gooseberry has two long, retractable tentacles covered in sticky cells (colloblasts) that help them capture tiny prey without stinging.
- **Bioluminescence Flash:** Sea Gooseberry can sometimes glow with a beautiful blue-green light, likely to startle predators or attract mates.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 1.5 cm
- **Lifespan:** 1 years

## Diet & Feeding

These tiny ocean hunters eat plankton and other small marine creatures.

- **Primary Foods:** copepods, larval fish, amphipods, other zooplankton, small crustaceans
- **Foraging Method:** Filter feeding

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** Lion's Mane Jellyfish (*Cyanea capillata*) — A food source for larger predatory jellyfish.
- **Eaten by:** [Haddock](https://www.snappit.app/explore/haddock) (*Melanogrammus aeglefinus*) — Certain fish species consume them as part of their diet.
- **Eaten by:** Melon Jelly (*Beroe cucumis*) — Another ctenophore known to prey on other ctenophores.

## Traits

- [Wildlife](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/wildlife): Wildlife encompasses all undomesticated animal and plant life existing in their natural habitats.
- [Filter Feeder](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/filter-feeder): Filter feeders obtain nutrients by straining suspended food particles and small organisms from water.
- [Ancient Lineage](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/ancient-lineage): This trait signifies organisms belonging to a very old evolutionary group with ancestors dating back millions of years.
- [Marine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/marine): Marine habitats encompass all saltwater environments of the Earth's oceans, supporting an immense diversity of aquatic life.
- [Glowing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/glowing): Pertaining to organisms that emit light through bioluminescence or fluorescence.
- [Nocturnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/nocturnal): Nocturnal animals are primarily active during the nighttime hours, typically resting or sleeping during the day.

## Collections

- [Invertebrates](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/invertebrates)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

If you ever see a Sea Gooseberry in the water, admire it from a safe distance and avoid touching it.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Sea Gooseberry?

Look for fins, arms, tentacles, shells and body symmetry. Underwater light shifts colors, so structure and markings usually matter more than shade. Sea Creature Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Sea Gooseberry?

1.5 cm

### How long does Sea Gooseberry live?

1 years

### What does Sea Gooseberry eat?

These tiny ocean hunters eat plankton and other small marine creatures.

### Where is Sea Gooseberry usually found?

Marine

### How does Sea Gooseberry hunt?

Filter feeding

## Where to spot

- [Zoo de la Palmyre](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/zoo-de-la-palmyre) — Nouvelle-Aquitaine, FR · Zoo

## More Invertebrate

- [Coral](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coral)
- [Crab Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crab-spider) (*Mecaphesa asperata*)
- [Garden Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/garden-spider) (*Araneus diadematus*)
- [Brown Recluse Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-recluse-spider) (*Loxosceles reclusa*)

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Source: [Sea Gooseberry: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/sea-gooseberry)