immortal-jellyfish.com
The good news is that you can be immortal. The bad news is that you have to become a floating blob of jelly to do so. Scientists have discovered a jellyfish which can live forever.
Turritopsis dohrnii is now officially known as the only immortal creature. The secret to eternal life, as it turns out, is not just living a really, really long time. It’s all about maturity, or rather, the lack of it. The immortal jellyfish (as it is better known popularly) propagate and then, faced with the normal career path of dying, they opt instead to revert to a sexually immature stage.
It turns out that once the adult form of the 4.5 mm-wide species Turritopsis dohrnii have reproduced, they don’t die but transform themselves back into their juvenile polyp state. Their tentacles retract, their bodies shrink, and they sink to the ocean floor and start the cycle all over again. Among laboratory samples, all the adult Turritopsis observed regularly undergo this change. And not just once: they can do it over and over again.
Thus, the only known way they can die is if they get consumed by another fish or if a disease strikes the jelly. However, there are still many mysteries surrounding the turritopsis dohrnii. While the process of reverting from its adult-phase to a polyp was observed several times, it hasn’t been observed yet in nature, only in laboratory environments.
Turritopsis nutricula vs Turritopsis rubra vs Turritopsis dohrnii
There was a lot of confusion even inside the scientific community between the three types of turritopsis jellyfish: the dohrnii, the nutricula and the rubra. Simply put, the turritopsis genus can be found in many parts of the world and it it is not an easy task to differentiate between these tiny jellyfishes.
The nutricula was for a long time mistakenly the one referred to as the immortal jellyfish, while the jellyfish used in the lab observations was the turritopsis dohrnii, as they were collected from the Mediterranean, where the dohrnii is found.
The nutricula is found in the Caribbean and North America and the cycle reversal was not in fact observed on the nutricula. That doesn’t mean that the nutricula isn’t biologically immortal but that it has not yet been observed and proven that. When the study (Bavestrello et al. 1992; Piraino et al. 1996, 2004) was published, the difference between the dohrnii and nutricula wasn’t clear yet and afterwards the media distributed the information that the nutricula would be the immortal one.
And finally the rubra is a turritopsis that can be found next to New Zealand waters. Its photos can be found all over the web describing the nutricula, but the rubra wasn’t even observed to be immortal. Its shape is similar to that of the nutricula, but it is bigger (it can reach 7 mm versus the 4.5 mm of the nutricula).
So chances are that if you ever hear about the nutricula being immortal, it is in fact the dohrnii but a picture of a rubra will be attached.
Few facts:
How old is the oldest immortal jellyfish?
You might want to know how old the oldest immortal jellyfish is, but unfortunately there is no answer to this.
No turritopsis dohrnii has been observed in a laboratory for an extended period of time, and there is no other way to establish the age of an individual.
How do they remain immortal?
The process that lets the turritopsis remain immortal is called transdifferentiation and it involves one cell converting from one type to another.
Thus, when the jellyfish reaches maturity, its cells can convert and it becomes a polyp again.
Won’t they populate the whole earth if they are immortal?
They are only biologically immortal, they still can be eaten by predators (and they certainly are eaten). But nonetheless, they are seen in new territories where they haven’t been seen before, as they are easily transported worldwide by cargo ships.
What is their habitat?
The immortal jellyfish prefers warmer waters, although it has been spotted in colder areas as well. They originate from the Caribbean Sea (nutricula) and the Mediterranean (dohrnii).
What do they feed on?
Their diet consists of plankton, fish eggs and small mollusks.
How do they look like?
If you want to spot an immortal jellyfish in the ocean, be aware that it is barely visible. The turritopsis dohrnii is bell-shaped and it is at maximum 4.5mm (0.18 inch) tall and wide. They are tiny creatures. Younger turritopsises have only 8 tentacles and are 1 mm tall, while adult ones can have up to 90 tentacles.
Its large stomach is bright red colored. In its polyp form the dohrnii is made up of stolons and branches that can create medusa buds.
Are there immortal jellyfishes on sale?
While rarely we heard about some being sold in Japan, they are quite rare. However, it is possible for them to be sold, but we have no information about any reliable source of nutricula or dohrnii for sale.
Life cycle:
There are two distinct stages of a jellyfish’s life cycle: the polypoid stage and the medusa stage.
It is no different to the immortal jellyfish, except that it can revert to its polyp stage at any time.
In order to do this reversion, it will use tissue from the circulatory canal system as well as the bell surface and the process used is called transdifferentiation.
But in order to undergo this transformation, the jellyfish develops somehow some missing cell types like sensory cells.There is insufficient data regarding this.
In order to get a full picture on its life cycle, the graphic will help:
The rejuvenated jellyfish will reach its sexual maturity in less than 30 days if the water temperature is 20 degrees Celius or in 18-22 days if the water temperature is 22 degrees. After it reached maturity, it doesn’t automatically revert to its former statute.
You must be registered for see images
Turritopsis dohrnii is now officially known as the only immortal creature. The secret to eternal life, as it turns out, is not just living a really, really long time. It’s all about maturity, or rather, the lack of it. The immortal jellyfish (as it is better known popularly) propagate and then, faced with the normal career path of dying, they opt instead to revert to a sexually immature stage.
It turns out that once the adult form of the 4.5 mm-wide species Turritopsis dohrnii have reproduced, they don’t die but transform themselves back into their juvenile polyp state. Their tentacles retract, their bodies shrink, and they sink to the ocean floor and start the cycle all over again. Among laboratory samples, all the adult Turritopsis observed regularly undergo this change. And not just once: they can do it over and over again.
Thus, the only known way they can die is if they get consumed by another fish or if a disease strikes the jelly. However, there are still many mysteries surrounding the turritopsis dohrnii. While the process of reverting from its adult-phase to a polyp was observed several times, it hasn’t been observed yet in nature, only in laboratory environments.
Turritopsis nutricula vs Turritopsis rubra vs Turritopsis dohrnii
There was a lot of confusion even inside the scientific community between the three types of turritopsis jellyfish: the dohrnii, the nutricula and the rubra. Simply put, the turritopsis genus can be found in many parts of the world and it it is not an easy task to differentiate between these tiny jellyfishes.
The nutricula was for a long time mistakenly the one referred to as the immortal jellyfish, while the jellyfish used in the lab observations was the turritopsis dohrnii, as they were collected from the Mediterranean, where the dohrnii is found.
The nutricula is found in the Caribbean and North America and the cycle reversal was not in fact observed on the nutricula. That doesn’t mean that the nutricula isn’t biologically immortal but that it has not yet been observed and proven that. When the study (Bavestrello et al. 1992; Piraino et al. 1996, 2004) was published, the difference between the dohrnii and nutricula wasn’t clear yet and afterwards the media distributed the information that the nutricula would be the immortal one.
And finally the rubra is a turritopsis that can be found next to New Zealand waters. Its photos can be found all over the web describing the nutricula, but the rubra wasn’t even observed to be immortal. Its shape is similar to that of the nutricula, but it is bigger (it can reach 7 mm versus the 4.5 mm of the nutricula).
So chances are that if you ever hear about the nutricula being immortal, it is in fact the dohrnii but a picture of a rubra will be attached.
Few facts:
How old is the oldest immortal jellyfish?
You might want to know how old the oldest immortal jellyfish is, but unfortunately there is no answer to this.
No turritopsis dohrnii has been observed in a laboratory for an extended period of time, and there is no other way to establish the age of an individual.
How do they remain immortal?
The process that lets the turritopsis remain immortal is called transdifferentiation and it involves one cell converting from one type to another.
Thus, when the jellyfish reaches maturity, its cells can convert and it becomes a polyp again.
Won’t they populate the whole earth if they are immortal?
They are only biologically immortal, they still can be eaten by predators (and they certainly are eaten). But nonetheless, they are seen in new territories where they haven’t been seen before, as they are easily transported worldwide by cargo ships.
What is their habitat?
The immortal jellyfish prefers warmer waters, although it has been spotted in colder areas as well. They originate from the Caribbean Sea (nutricula) and the Mediterranean (dohrnii).
What do they feed on?
Their diet consists of plankton, fish eggs and small mollusks.
How do they look like?
If you want to spot an immortal jellyfish in the ocean, be aware that it is barely visible. The turritopsis dohrnii is bell-shaped and it is at maximum 4.5mm (0.18 inch) tall and wide. They are tiny creatures. Younger turritopsises have only 8 tentacles and are 1 mm tall, while adult ones can have up to 90 tentacles.
Its large stomach is bright red colored. In its polyp form the dohrnii is made up of stolons and branches that can create medusa buds.
Are there immortal jellyfishes on sale?
While rarely we heard about some being sold in Japan, they are quite rare. However, it is possible for them to be sold, but we have no information about any reliable source of nutricula or dohrnii for sale.
Life cycle:
There are two distinct stages of a jellyfish’s life cycle: the polypoid stage and the medusa stage.
It is no different to the immortal jellyfish, except that it can revert to its polyp stage at any time.
In order to do this reversion, it will use tissue from the circulatory canal system as well as the bell surface and the process used is called transdifferentiation.
But in order to undergo this transformation, the jellyfish develops somehow some missing cell types like sensory cells.There is insufficient data regarding this.
In order to get a full picture on its life cycle, the graphic will help:
You must be registered for see images
The rejuvenated jellyfish will reach its sexual maturity in less than 30 days if the water temperature is 20 degrees Celius or in 18-22 days if the water temperature is 22 degrees. After it reached maturity, it doesn’t automatically revert to its former statute.
:wut:
