VENUS'S GIRDLE (VELAMEN, OR CESTUM, VENERIS)

ribbon-shaped comb jelly of the order Cestida (phylum Ctenophora) found in the Mediterranean Sea. Its graceful, transparent body, which is a delicate violet in colour, is 1 m (about 40 inches) or more long and about 5 cm (2 inches) wide. It has a well-developed musculature and swims with an undulating motion.