Fig. 11

Summary of results in the schematic diagrams. Muscle organization (a), ciliary structures and digestive canal (b) and distribution of peptide-expressing cells (c) of V. multiformis and comparison with those of pelagic ctenophore. a Pattern of muscle organization in V. multiformis (left) and those of the pelagic ctenophore (Pleurobrachia bachei) (right). Muscles depicted with the same colors indicate their homology. b Organization of the digestive canals and the distribution of the characteristic ciliary structure, ciliated rosette, pharyngeal cilia, and comb-row cilia on V. multiformis (left) and the pelagic ctenophore (P. bachei) (right). The illustrations of P. bachei in a and b are reconstructed based on the description in Norekian and Moroz 2019a [23]. These cellular features are conserved across other pelagic ctenophore species [1, 2, 23,24,25, 31]. c Distribution of ctenophore peptide-expressing cells in bodies of V. multiformis (left) and a B. mikado larva (right). Distribution in B. mikado larvae are redrawn and modified from Hayakawa et al. (2022) [13]. Neurites are represented by lines and neurosecretory-like cells are represented by dots. ao, aboral organ; cp, comb plate; gc, gastrovascular canal; mc, meridional canal; mo, mouth; s, stomach; tc, tentacles; ts tentacle sheath