Some true organs are present. Comb jellies resemble scyphomedusae but differ from them in several important respects. There is no equivalent of the polyp and no dimorphism or colonial organization. The gut begins with a mouth and ectodermal pharynx and ends with a pair of anal pores. Digestion is extracellular and intracellular and the gut is divided into digestive and distributive regions as it is in scyphozoans.
Cilia are well developed and used for a variety of purposes.
Locomotion is accomplished by eight longitudinal rows ciliary plates. Cilia are also involved in sensory reception and some function in a mechanical, rather than neuronal, communication system. The mesoglea contains cells of several types, especially muscle. Ctenophores are hermaphrodite and many are bioluminescent. Cydippid ctenophores, such as Pleurobrachia , the sea gooseberry, are primitive comb jellies more or less typical of the phylum.