Impurest's Guide to Animals #56 - Immortal Jellyfish

Last week of February, last issue before this blogs one year anniversary. Over the last few months this series has really metamorphosis into something I’m proud of, much like the Tiger Swallowtail from last week, and it’s thanks to the support of you, the reader. And that includes readers like @transcendence who nominated the first of our ‘gelatinous trio’ (others to be release in March) for this weeks issue. Hope you guys enjoy.

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Issue #56 - Immortal Jellyfish

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Cindara

Class – Hydrazoa

Order – Anthoacetteta

Family – Oceaniidae

Genus – Turritopsis

Species – dohrnii

Related Species - The family Oceaniidae contains around fifty species spread across ten geneses (1)

Range

One Step towards Immortality

The Immortal Jellyfish adheres to the classic jellyfish body plan, with a bell at one end and trailing tentacles at the other. At only half a centimetre in length and width, the adult medusa is part of the zoo plankton, and is usually found in the top two hundred meters of the water column. Like its relatives, the internal organs of the Immortal Jellyfish are highly simple, or in some cases non-existent, and in the case of the aforementioned species, the only visible organ is the bright red stomach (2).

When hunting the jellyfish trawls through the plankton, catching prey with its trailing tentacles, which are lined with stinging cells to immobilize its target, before drawing them back to the stomach in the bell. Despite its name, the Immortal Jellyfish is preyed on by larger jellyfish and other larger plankton feeders. The term immortal refers to a process called transdifferentiation, the process of resetting the bodies’ mature cells back into unmodified stem cells. And while several animals use this process to grow or replace new organs, the only animal that completely regenerates this way is the Immortal Jellyfish, and potentially other members of the genus Turritopsis (3).

The environmental pressures that cause the Immortal Jellyfish to revert, from a free swimming medusa to a stationary polyp, are linked to food shortage, disease and physical injury. These polyps form colonies and eventually bud into adult medusa, with the original animal essentially bypassing death, capable of reproducing in the standard jellyfish fashion or returning back to their polyp form when injured. That said, all studies of transdifferentiation in the Immortal Jellyfish have taken place in laboratory conditions, and hasn’t been observed occurring in the wild.

Ecology 101: A Guide to Environmental Mechanics - #5 Jellyfish Blooms

Despite being biologically simple Jellyfish are some of the most successful animal groups on the planet. And while large swarms of species such as the Moon Jellyfish (Aurellia aurita) are well documented, many species have started appearing in large ‘blooms’. While this is due in part to the constant stream of eggs (or sperm) released into the ocean by the free swimming adult medusa, there is more to these occurrences then this going on.

While such blooms may be initially trivial, such explosions in population have severe economic and ecological effects. Since jellyfish are indiscriminate feeders, they will take small fish as readily as zooplankton as well as other jellyfish. In addition to reducing vital fish stocks, sheer volume of individuals can cause damage to boats as well as causing human fatalities (4). Such blooms are possible due to a combination of global warming, depletion of predators and the creation of more anchor points for juvenile polyps. And while jellyfish are largely reliant on currents to spread themselves around the world, large numbers now hitch rides in the ballast of ships, often spreading to oceans where they have no natural predators.

At current there is no solution to reduce jellyfish numbers, and at current there is no sign that these blooms are decreasing in size or frequency. Few species reliably feed on large numbers of jellyfish, and those that do such as the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and Sunfish (Mola mola) are highly endangered, mostly due to human interaction. As such it’s theorised that humanity may have to adapt to living in a world were ‘the Jellyfish Invasion’ is the norm and not an unusual occurrence as it currently is.

Bibliography

1 - www.arkive.org

2 - Kramp, P. L. (1961). "Synopsis of the medusae of the world". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom40: 1–469

3 - M. P. Miglietta, S. Piraino, S. Kubota, P. Schuchert (2007). "Species in the genus Turritopsis (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa): a molecular evaluation". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research45 (1): 11–19

4 - http://qz.com/133251/jellyfish-are-taking-over-the-seas-and-it-might-be-too-late-to-stop-them/

Picture References

1 - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_aGOgV5JgFQ/UTc1TqnuqRI/AAAAAAAABgE/_IySfqjG_5Q/s1600/The+Immortal+Jellyfish.png

2 - http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?map=Turritopsis+nutricula

3 - http://www.immortal-jellyfish.com/images/immortal_jellyfish.png

4 - https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/jellyfish-map-featured.png?w=940

And as we process that terrifying future where the Immortal Jellyfish overlord rules the oceans, we must think onto another animal, in this case the king of the Kaiju himself. But until then critic, comment and check out past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary

Many Thanks

Impurest Cheese

@cbishop,@foolsgold,@ostyo,@wildvine,@samimista,@cattlebattle,@xwraith,@cgoodness,@ms-lola, @squares, @scorpion2501, @darthaznable,@scattered316,@bumpyboo,@knightsofdarkness2, @wolverine08, @dboyrules2011, @joshuadbr,@nighthunder,@johnjo719,@itsomething, @delphic, @dngn4774,@bruxae, @jaken7,@ccraft,@wim_garnet,@claymore1998, @ironspiderchan45, @kfhrfdu_89_76k,@dccomicsrule2011,@hylian,@darling_luna, @transcendence, @rd189 and @unbreakable_fs4

All bow down to the terror of the deep

@impurestcheese: I was totally thinking of suggesting this one! :D

we should use these guys to make us immortal

Nice :)

@ostyo: Looks like @transcendence beat you to it. Thanks for the comment though

@hylian: It would take a lot of reverse engineering, plus it's not proper immortality, more like rejuvenation

@laflux: Thanks, can't believe its almost been a year since the first issue came out...

@impurestcheese: I know. But it would be cool if we could actually do it

@hylian: In my view something like that could end in the death of the planet due to resource scarcity, immortality is the last thing the human race needs at the moment

Very nice

Amazing creatures

@quinnofthestoneage: Yep, but very destructive too

@claymore1998: Thanks :-)

Wow, this one is really cool.

It visually reminds me alot of all those flashy deep sea creatures.

@bruxae: Yeah deep sea jellyfish have a lot of similarities to the species featured above

That's great and all, but..........but will it blend?

@fuzzylittlerodent: Maybe, but then it'll turn into a polyp and hey presto 28 days later you have like twenty of them

This is another one of those instances when the creature of subject has a name more suited for a band.

These things are amazing to see in person. You can stare at them for quite a while, depending on how sober you are of course.

@cattlebattle: Good band name indeed. I had the pleasure to see a big old Lion's Mane Jellyfish last time I went up to my parents place in Oban. Thing was massive and just drifting round the harbor scaring the local fish and gulls

@impurestcheese: I saw a couple of different jellyfish of differing sizes and luminescence when I went to the Shanghai Aquarium. Very beautiful. But yeah, if I was swimming and one of these guys game floating my way, I would sh*t.

You're Scottish I take it??

@cattlebattle: Born in Stirling but raised all over the world. My dad's work took him across the globe, as such I have travel in the blood. As for Jellyfish, the one you have to worry about is the Irukandji. It's small, packs a powerful venom which has the unusual side effect of giving the victim a feeling of 'impending doom'. In other words while the venom isn't strong enough to kill (in most cases) it makes the victim want to comit suicide

I recommend Heikegani the samurai crab, if you haven't already done it.

*Still reading*

@ccraft: I haven't although it's curious, was looking for something of that ilk to help patch up next weeks short issue. This may just help a lot

I'm pretty sure the legend is that fallen samurai's are turn into these crabs, when the fishermen catch these crabs they'll throw them back into the water because they won't eat them. It has a lot to do with it looking like a human face on the shell. Hope it's what you're looking for.

@ccraft: Yes it goes well with the animal named after a certain famous japanese monster

Ooh. Jellyfish. :p

Eh, that wouldn't be a terribly new sensation for me, what else does he got?? :)

@cattlebattle: Well it can fire it's stingers and has stinging cells on the bell. The pain you experience is likened to that of Child Birth

@dboyrules2011: Yep Jellyfish

"Despite being biologically simple Jellyfish are some of the most successful..."

BECAUSE jellyfish are biologically simple.

Good that a load of `em have done damage on the industries. Though, it resulted in deaths of peeps. = (

@kfhrfdu_89_76k: You're correct, often the most simple designs are the longest lasting, but not always. And while you may revel in their anarchic tendencies they do cause a lot of damage, some of which (such as the desalination plant clogging) could end in fatalities

Thats a spirit

@cgoodness: Spirit? What do you mean Spirit?

Some real nice stuff here, Impurest. Jellyfish are real beautiful creatures.

@dccomicsrule2011: Cool thanks for the comment. And yes some of them are, although the previous jellyfish issue was just plain creepy.

@impurestcheese:

Cool thanks for the comment.

You're welcome. ^-^

And yes some of them are, although the previous jellyfish issue was just plain creepy.

I don't think I've seen that issue <_< *goes to Google it*

@dccomicsrule2011: You could just go to the Guide to Animals library linked in the actual issue

Ah, didn't see that at first. Thanks.

@dccomicsrule2011: No Problem and Have Fun

Interesting

@unbreakable_fs4: Thanks that's always the aim of this series

Since these jellyfish are immortal, do they not reproduce as much as other jellyfish?

@impurestcheese: Nicely done. :D

I'm surprised there hasn't been a concerted effort to deal with these blooms, considering how large they are. Amazing too how these things can get to places like the Red Sea via ships. Humanity really is like a bull in a china shop.

Peeing directly on the place where you get stung will help with the pain? Or is that an old wives' tale?

One of my favorite critters; learned of this one while taking a Zoology course my Sophomore Year in college.

@thetruebarryallen: Thanks for comenting, always great to find a fellow zoologist/ecologist on site

@transcendance: Thank you, looks like you chose well with this one

@ms-lola: No urine won't work, but since most stings are alkaline something like vinegar might help ease the pain a little. And yes we have been very carel6careless with the movement of invasive species

@ccraft: No all adult jellyfish are constantly releasing a stream of eggs or sperm

@impurestcheese: Thanks for the clarification. Now that makes sense.

@ms-lola: Thanks, it's just basic chemistry but it could save your life.