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Tentaculata is a class of comb jelly, one of two classes in the phylum Ctenophora. The common feature of this class is a pair of long, feathery, contractile , which can be retracted into specialised cilium sheaths. In some species, the primary tentacles are reduced and they have smaller, secondary tentacles. The tentacles have , which are sticky-tipped cells that trap small prey.
Body size and shape varies widely. The group includes the small, oval sea gooseberry found on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The more flattened species of the genus Mnemiopsis, about long, are common on the upper Atlantic coast; it has a large mouth and mainly feeds on larval and . This species is brilliantly bioluminescence. The similar, but larger, genus Leucothea is abundant on the Pacific coast. Venus girdle (genus Cestum) is a flattened, ribbon-like form reaching over in length, and found in tropical waters.
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