(Keferstein and Ehlers, 1860)
Description
Anterior nectophore [Lensia conoidea ]: with five complete ridges and a minute, basal hydroecium. Mesogloea thickened ventrally, surrounding the long thickened somatocyst, which extends to half the height of the nectophore.
Posterior nectophore [L.conoidea-postnect ]: five-ridged, with an asymmetrical mouthplate which is indented centrally. The lateral radial canals are not looped as in Sulculeolaria biloba.
Eudoxid: the eudoxid bract is conical, approximately 4 mm in height, with a long , swollen phyllocyst. The gonophores possess a mouth plate.
Photos of complete specimens
L.conoidea-photo-1
L.conoidea-photo-2
L.conoidea-photo-3
Size
Anterior nectophore up to 20 mm in height.
Posterior nectophore reaching 20 mm in length.
Depth range
At depths between 200 and 600 m; there is also some evidence for a deeper vertical distribution.
Remarks
The gonophores of all Lensia species are difficult to identify on species level and will not be described.
Distribution in the North Sea
Northern North Sea.
World distribution
Lensia conoidea is a common and cosmopolitan species most frequently encountered in the N Atlantic Ocean.
[After Kirkpatrick and Pugh, 1984]