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Turritopsis dohrnii
The Immortal Jellyfish is a Cnidarian native to the Mediterranean and waters surrounding Japan. It is a small translucent jellyfish with a bell that only reaches about 1 In (2.5 Cm) in Diameter. They are named for their incredible ability to revert themselves back to a polyp. If the Jellyfish is sick, cold or injured its cells can undergo a change known as Transdifferentiation or Lineage-Reprogramming. This allows the cells inside the Jelly’s body to change rapidly. Once changed, it can start its life all over again making the jelly biologically immortal. The jelly starts out as a free floating Polyp that can hardly be seen to the naked eye. After a few days, it fuses to the seafloor and branches outward, making identical copies of itself. This is called the Hydroid stage. Once mature, it breaks off of the Hydroid. This is called the Medusa stage.
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