Turritopsis dohrnii
(The immortal jellyfish)
The Turritopsis Dohrnii or The immortal jellyfish is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the waters of Japan. The Turritopsis Dohrnii is called the immortal jellyfish because of it's ability to revert completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. This creature was first founded in 1883 by Austin Wiesmann.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hydrozoa
Order: Anthoathecata
Family: Oceaniidae
Genus: Turriptosis
Species: Turriptosis Dohrni
What makes it special?
The Turritopsis Dohrnii is special because it is the only animal to be declared biologically immortal. This because when the Turritopsis Dohrnii reaches its adult/ medusae stage if it is ever is exposed to environmental stress or physical assault, or is sick or old. It can revert itself from its sexually matured form into its sexually immatured form.
It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation, which alters the differentiated state of the cell and transforms them into new types of cells. And the Turritopsis Dohrnii can do this as many times as it wants, effectively making it theoretically immortal but unfortunately it is not immortal because it still dies from being consumed by bigger fish, deadly disease.
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