Sea creature that can switch to its baby form is basically time-travelling
Comb jelly
A sea creature has the ability to age in reverse, as per a study. The Atlantic comb jelly, known as the "sea walnut", can reverse its ageing if there is a lack of food or it is injured. Developing backwards, the gelatinous invertebrate turns its body into its larval form, a stage in its life when it possesses tentacles to catch food.
The adult form of the creature looks like a small pair of transparent lungs and does not have these tentacles. A study that is yet to be peer-reviewed states that the sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) is only the third-known animal species, and the first-known comb jelly species that can return to an earlier stage of its life after reaching adulthood.
Certain jellyfish, sea anemones and corals can also go back to a previous physical form but only till they haven't reached sexual maturity. The other two species other than the sea walnut that can change as adults are the so-called immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) and the dog tapeworm (Echinococcus granulosus).
The researchers wrote in the study that this "confirms that reversal development might be more widespread than previously thought."
Study on sea walnuts
The sea walnut is native to the western Atlantic Ocean but can now be found in several other water bodies as well.
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It has turned into an invasive species in Europe and Asia and is now also found in the Black and Caspian seas, along with the Mediterranean, Baltic and North Seas.
Notably, the M. leidyi can survive in the ballast water of ships for weeks without food and experts believe this is how it managed to reach other shores.
To understand more about their survival strategy, scientists starved one group of comb jellies and physically injured another by removing tissue from their lobes. They found that despite not having anything to feed on and being amputated the sea walnuts did not die. Instead, they shrunk into tiny blobs.
After being fed later, 13 of the 65 comb jellies developed tentacles, a sign that they had gone back to their larval stage. Eventually, the creatures reached their original size again and also regrew their lobes. They were also able to reproduce again, according to the study.