Despite going extinct over 400 million years ago, ancient comb jellies are still blowing scientists away. Long thought of as entirely soft-bodied creatures — like their modern counterparts — these predatory marine animals may have had hard, skeleton-like parts, according to a study published in Science Advances today.Jul 10, 2015
How many comb jellies are left?
There are currently 200 known, or described, comb jelly species.
Is comb jelly immortal?
Polyps can live and reproduce asexually for several years, or even decades. One jellyfish species is almost immortal. Turritopsis nutricula, a small hydrozoan, can revert back to the polyp stage after reaching adult medusa stage through a process called transdifferentiation.
Can you touch a comb jelly?
Unlike jellyfish, comb jellies don't sting. Instead, they use unique sticky cells—colloblasts—to catch their prey. Since they don't possess stinging cells, they can be safely touched. In fact, you can also swim around with them!
How long does a comb jelly live?
Some species regenerate if injured and reproduce asexually as well as sexually. Small parts of these animals break off and grow into adults. Little is known about most species, but the lifespan of those that have been studied ranges from less than a month to three years.
Can any animal live forever?
To date, there's only one species that has been called 'biologically immortal': the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. These small, transparent animals hang out in oceans around the world and can turn back time by reverting to an earlier stage of their life cycle.
Can jellyfish live forever?
A tiny jellyfish named Turritopsis dohrnii is capable of living forever, Motherboard reports. Only discovered in 1988, the organism can regenerate into a polyp—its earliest stage of life—as it ages or when it experiences illness or trauma.
Are comb jelly extinct?
Not extinct Comb jellies/Extinction status
Is immortality possible?
A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has stated, through a mathematical equation, that it is impossible to stop ageing in multicellular organisms, which include humans, bringing the immortality debate to a possible end.