Comb jellies, also known as ctenophores, are fascinating bioluminescent creatures commonly found in Florida's waters. Often mistaken for jellyfish, these gelatinous animals possess unique characteristics and play a significant role in the marine ecosystem. This article delves into the world of comb jellies, exploring their bioluminescence, habitat, diet, and other interesting facts, with a particular focus on those found in Florida.
These simple animals, comprised of 95% water, can be found anywhere from the deep ocean to shallow coastal areas like the Indian River Lagoon. People usually find these clear golf ball to tennis ball sized jellies washed onto the sand or floating in the surf while visiting the beach. Comb jellies are stunning oval-shaped creatures. They get their name from the rows of comb-like plates that they use to propel themselves in the water.
Yes! The comb jellies seen while kayaking in Florida are bioluminescent and give off a bright blue-green light at night. The comb rows contain the specialized cells called photocytes that produce bioluminescence, these are the same specialized cells that fire flies use to glow. The light produced by these cells is triggered by movement and caused by a chemical reaction when photoprotein enzymes react to a catalyst enzymes. When activated (by movement), the 8 stripes light up to create blue-green bioluminescence. You can see bioluminescence from comb jellies while kayaking when they are moved by anything in the water like fish, shrimp, dolphins, manatees, kayaks or other forces like natural currents, tides, and waves.
They have 8 stripes down their side which have the swim plates, comb rows, and the cells that produce light for bioluminescence. During the day, the rows naturally refract sunlight making them shimmer in the water like rainbows as a comb jelly swims.
It is unknown what caused comb jellies to develop bioluminescence, but it’s believed they use it for defense tactics and communication. The light from their bioluminescence may be used to startle a predator with eyes or used to attract larger predators to disrupt whatever is trying to eat them. We can observe some causes of bioluminescence while kayaking in Canaveral National Seashore.
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Although they look similar at first with Comb Jellies paddling through the water and Jellyfish traveling along with their pulsating bells, they have very different structures and traits that place them in different phyla. Besides what is seen at first impression, they are really distant so it quickly becomes difficult to find similarities between the two and becomes like trying to compare rattlesnakes and earthworms. They are very different genetically too.
Fortunately, they do not sting. Comb jellies done have the stinging cells and so they can be safely caught. Comb jelly is in no was related to jellyfish. These delicate beauties don’t have stingers, so even when you scoop one up during your paddle out bioluminescent kayaking Cocoa Beach, you don’t have to worry about getting zapped. They are completely harmless, just soft, squishy, and kind of hypnotic to watch.
Jellyfish pulse their bell-shaped bodies to get around. But comb jellies use rows of tiny, hair-like structures called ctenes, or “combs,” which beat in waves and help them glide silently through the water. When light hits these combs, it refracts and creates this shimmering, rainbow-y effect that’s absolutely unreal. It’s called iridescence, and you’ll see it up close when you shine a red light on them in your kayak.
Sea walnuts (Mnemiopsis leidyi) and pink comb jelly (Beroe ovata) are the most common comb jelly species we’ve found kayaking through Canaveral National Seashore and along Florida’s Atlantic coast. Comb jellies are a huge group of animals and make up 200 known species in the phylum Ctenophora.
We see comb jellies while kayaking the most often during their large blooms from October - May in the Indian River & Mosquito Lagoon. Comb Jellies bloom in Florida during these colder months but can be seen all year. In April and early May, the Indian River Lagoon still holds the ideal conditions to support large blooms of comb jellies.
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They are carnivores and usually eat whatever plankton they can find, including other comb jellies. They can eat other jellies larger than themselves by “biting” off pieces and expanding their stomach’s to consume prey up to half of their size. Comb jellies are considered cannibals since they are capable of eating other comb jellies. They eat comb jellies that are larger than themselves. They can bite off chunks of the other comb jelly with their cilia structures in their mouths. They do, however, prefer to eat plankton, crustaceans, small fish, and zooplankton.
As such a simple animal, they have few specialized organs and are made up of about 95% water with most being able to detect chemical traces in the water allowing them to locate food sources and a structure called “statocyst” that’s gravity sensitive and helps them keep their orientation in the water. Along with this their outer layer of cells secretes a thick stinky mucus to trap prey. They don’t have any intestines, stomach, or even lungs. Nutrients and oxygen pass through their epidermis and gastrodermis instead. Comb jellies are essentially made of water. Their bodies comprise of 95% water, making it easier for them to float around. They don’t have any bones and muscles that weigh them down.
There are many ways to experience the glowing waters from bioluminescent comb jelly and dinoflagellates. Kayaking trips like Viking EcoTours’ Guided Stargazing & Bioluminescent kayaking tours offer easy and convenient access to bioluminescent experiences. Those looking for an overnight and rugged experience can rent a canoe overnight at the Apollo Beach Visitors Center and use recreation.gov to reserve a backcountry island campground.
In Canaveral National Seashore, you can experience the bioluminescent comb jellies by scheduling a guided bioluminescent kayaking trip, or by renting a canoe overnight at the Apollo Beach Visitors Center.
Comb jellies are one of those ancient species of creatures that have been around for over 500 million years. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History claims they are at least 500 million years old. According to genetic studies, comb jellies may have evolved even before sponges, which were once thought to be the most primitive animals. That’s right; the next time you are out bioluminescent kayaking Merritt Island, know that you are floating alongside a species that’s been around for over 500 million years. Half a billion! Think about that for a second. These multicellular creatures are basically living fossils.
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Comb jellies developed the first through-gut, connecting a mouth to an anus. The transparent, oblong jellies shocked scientists with their “number two” tricks in 2016, when evolutionary biologist William Browne showed videos of them defecating at a conference in St. Augustine, Florida. Until then, scientists believed that comb jellies ate and excreted through the same opening, similarly to other simple organisms. That revelation was such a big deal that it merited publication in the journal Science, which stated that “the butthole is one of the finest innovations in the past 540 million years of animal evolution,” because it made eating more efficient and more hygienic. Before comb jellies evolved the extra waste-expelling outlet, all known organisms were eating and excreting through the same orifice.
Fisheries. Ben Brandao remembers his first official introduction to comb jellies vividly. It was 2017 and he was running kayaking tours in Cape Canaveral, Florida, taking people to see bioluminescence-a phenomenon in which some creatures emit light.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Brandao was back in his hometown of St. Augustine. He had formed his own company, GeoTrippin, and was running kayak tours on Guana Lake, a tidal estuary between St. While on a sunset tour, he spotted walnut comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi) after dark, twinkling in the water as he paddled. This was unusual for September, but he didn’t think much of it, figuring it was an isolated occurrence. But as he kept conducting the sunset tours, he started seeing the comb jellies glow every time.
As strange as it may sound, humans and comb jellies share many genes. One recent study found that comb jellies are distantly related to all other animals on Earth and described them as “sisters” to all other creatures. Scientists are therefore studying them to understand what roles different genes play in an organism.
If you’re heading out for a kayaking tour in Cocoa Beach, you will most likely see bioluminescent comb jellies. They are the magical part about kayaking in Florida. Most people don’t know much about this creature and have probably never heard about it before either.
One of the best parts about watching bioluminescence on the Space Coast on our clear-bottom kayak excursions is how up close and personal you can get with the mystical jellies. At Kiwanis Island or the Haulover Canal area, whichever spot you decide to join us from, the water is comfortably shallow, clear, and protected from wind. This makes it easy to see comb jellies radiating right beneath your seat.
In the warm and dark lagoon waters on the Space Coast of Florida lies a natural phenomenon of glowing blue waters alive with activity called bioluminescence. Being on a wildlife refuge, other wildlife often makes appearances as well! Frequent visitors include manatees, dolphins, herons, other endangered species of birds, and even the occasional gator.
Kayaking is one of the most up-close and personal ways to experience dinoflagellate bioluminescence (dino bio). And with the invent of clear-bottom kayaks, the experience is more immersive than ever! Now you can observe not only the blue swirls off of your paddle, but rushing under your very feet.
2025 has been one of the brightest years yet - with both comb jellies and dinoflagellates glowing at the same time. Every paddle stroke sparkles, and every scoop of water reveals glowing life in your hands. Dinoflagellates glow blue with every paddle stroke.Comb jellies sparkle in your hands like floating stars. Together, they create a layered, magical glow that feels like paddling through another world.
We encourage visitors to book a tour with A Day Away Kayak Tours during a new moon, which amplifies the shimmering stars and glittering water. Other factors that may affect bioluminescence glow are rain and storms.
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