Scientists aren’t usually too quick to toss around absolute words like “immortality”, but they’ve been keeping an eye on a jellyfish that does seem to show signs of an ever-repeating life cycle. The little beasty in question is a Turritopsis nutricul, which is about 5 mm across. It’s in the same class as the significantly larger, and more famous Portugese Man ‘o War. (a large stinging jellyfish with a long curly tail)
The Turritopsi can float around the ocean, and when the time seems right, it can kick into reverse metamorphosis and turn into a blob on the ocean rocks. As the original article puts it, that’s like a butterfly turning back into a caterpillar. You may have heard of a salamander that can re-grow it’s own tail, but this little jellyfish is unique in it’s ability to regenerate it’s entire body. So, it can repeat this cycle, from blob to jellyfish, over and over again with no signs of stopping.
The Turritopsi are native to the Caribbean, but have been popping up on the other side of the ocean, most likely catching rides with ship traffic. So, should they spread across the globe and enslave all humans… you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
- Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/01/29/the-curious-case-of-the-immortal-jellyfish/
