Plate LXXIV: Coelenterata. Class: Ctenophora
Illustrated by Arthur Looss (1861-1923)
Edited by Karl Georg Friedrich Rudolf Leuckart (1822-1898)
Published by Theodor Fischer
Circa 1877-1892
Carleton College Biology Department
This unusual chart comes from a series on invertebrates published by the famed German zoologist and parasitologist Rudolph Leuckart. Popular worldwide at the time of their publication, Leuckart’s charts are recognized today because of their beauty and because the series is so extensive (there are 101 charts in the series on invertebrates).
The fine lines of the white-on-black illustration highlight the comb jellies’ transparent bodies and the rows of delicate cilia that they use for locomotion. The multiple figures on this chart depict aspects of the organism’s morphology, its locomotion (Fig. 4 , near the center of the chart, shows Cestus Veneris‘ snake-like movement), and developmental stages.