''Lampocteis'' is a monotypic genus of

comb jellies Ctenophora (; ctenophore ; ) comprise a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), an ...

, the only genus in family Lampoctenidae. The sole species in this new genus is ''Lampocteis cruentiventer'', the bloodybelly comb jelly. This ctenophore was first collected in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

off the coast of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, in 1979. It was described to science in 2001. Two morphological differences separating it from previously known comb jellies warranted the naming of a new family for this animal.Harbison, G. R., G. I. Matsumoto, and B. H. Robison. (2001)
''Lampocteis cruentiventer'' gen. nov., sp. nov.: A new mesopelagic lobate ctenophore, representing the type of a new family (Class Tentaculata, Order Lobata, Family Lampoctenidae, fam. nov.).
''Bulletin of Marine Science'' 68:2 299-311. This ctenophore differs from all previously described lobate ctenophores in two major ways: (1) all of the meridional canals have blind aboral endings, and (2) the body is penetrated by a deep notch located between the adjacent subtentacular comb rows at the level of the infundibulum. This

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins ...

jelly ranges in color from deep red, purple, or black to pale purple. The deep color of its belly may mask the animal's

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

to hide it from potential

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

. Its "combs," rows of

cilia The cilium, plural cilia (), is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell, and certain microorganisms known as ciliates. Cilia are absent in bacteria and archaea. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projecti ...

on its body, have a sparkling

iridescence Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

. Specimens examined have ranged between 1.5 and 16 centimeters in length and 1.2 to 10 centimeters in width.

References

Monotypic ctenophore genera Lobata {{ctenophore-stub