A translucent rabbit-ear comb jelly Kiyohimea usagi floats effortlessly in a deep blue sea speckled in white dots of marine snow. Various bits of colored light diffract off along its comb rows like neon lights.

This jelly is ear-resistable!

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In the lunar calendar, we’ve entered the Year of the Rabbit—a time of hope, peace, and prosperity. If you hop into the ocean looking for some bunny to love, you’re in luck! There are huge algae-eating California sea hares that release magenta ink when they’re disturbed and cute black-and-white sea bunny nudibranchs that feast on sponges.

Our new favorite? The rabbit-ear comb jelly (Kiyohimea usagi), a delicate deep-sea ctenophore that lives in Monterey Bay! Scientists named it usagi—Japanese for “rabbit"—because little projections on its body look like rabbit ears.⁠ Want to learn a hare more about the rabbit-ear comb jelly? Check out this video from @mbari-blog! https://mbayaq.co/3Y4itfJ

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