Turritopsis dohrnii
Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is a species of small jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the waters off Japan.
| Immortal jellyfish | |
|---|---|
| |
| Turritopsis dohrnii medusa | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hydrozoa |
| Order: | Anthoathecata |
| Family: | Oceaniidae |
| Genus: | Turritopsis |
| Species: | T. dohrnii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Turritopsis dohrnii | |
It is the only known case of an animal which can revert completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after it has reached sexual maturity as an individual.[2][3]
Like most other hydrozoans, T. dohrnii begin life as free-swimming tiny larvae known as a planula. As a planula settles down, it gives rise to a colony of polyps that are attached to the sea-floor. While an immortal jellyfish can age in reverse, it can also be killed by predators including various fish, sharks, turtles and even other jellyfish.
Jellyfish, also known as medusae, bud off these polyps and continue their life in a free-swimming form. Eventually they become sexually mature. All the polyps and jellyfish coming from a single planula are genetically identical clones.
Turritopsis dohrnil is a species of jellyfish that apparently does not die of natural causes, because it can revert to the juvenile stage from the adult stage. However, it is not actually immortal. Most Turritopsis are likely to be eaten by predators or die from disease in the adult stage.[4]
Shin Kubota from Kyoto University, has managed to keep these jellyfish for a long time. Kubota reported that during a two-year period, his colony rebirthed itself 11 times.[5]
References change
- ↑ Schuchert P, ed. (2012). "Turritopsis dorhnii (Weissmann, 1883)". World Hydrozoa database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ↑ Bavestrello, Giorgio; Christian Sommer; Michele Sarà (1992). "Bi-directional conversion in Turritopsis nutricula (Hydrozoa)". Scientia Marina. 56 (2–3): 137–140.
- ↑ Piraino, Stefano; F. Boero; B. Aeschbach; V. Schmid (1996). "Reversing the life cycle: medusae transforming into polyps and cell transdifferentiation in Turritopsis nutricula (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa)". Biological Bulletin. 190 (3). Biological Bulletin, vol. 190, no. 3: 302–312. doi:10.2307/1543022. JSTOR 1543022. PMID 29227703.
- ↑ Ker Than (January 29, 2009). ""Immortal" jellyfish swarm world's oceans". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
- ↑ S Kubota (2011). "Repeating rejuvenation in Turritopsis, an immortal hydrozoan (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa)" (PDF). Biogeography. 13: 101–103. ISSN 1345-0662. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2015-09-12.