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 (Weismann, 1883)[1]

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. The Turritopsis dohrnii can revert back to its juvenile form after reaching adulthood. 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]