Ancient comb jellies might have had skeletons

Chinese fossils hint at rigid framework for filmy sea creatures

Comb jellies

SOFT LIFE  Comb jellies alive today, like this Mnemiopsis mccradyi common in the Gulf of Mexico, have soft bodies, but fossils hint that their ancient relatives had skeletons.

Gregory G. Dimijian/Science Source

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Comb jellies, just globes of shimmering film in today’s oceans, may have had rigid skeletons and hard plates millions of years ago.