comb

The first is a study from the journal Current Biology found that ctenophores, a phlyum of aquatic invertebrates better known as comb jellies, can successfully fuse together after being injured.

To test whether this comb jelly was actually two individuals who had fused together, the scientists tested individual ctenophores collected at different sites on separate dates.

Fellow co-author Kei Jokura, a biologist at the University of Exeter, initially discovered the fused comb jelly.

Jokura told Salon that although no other animal has demonstrated “functional fusion” in the manner seen with the comb jellies, other organisms like corals, sponges and ascidians can physically behave as if they are a single entity despite containing numerous individuals.

“This ability is largely influenced by a lack of an allo-recognition system, which usually differentiates self from non-self and triggers immune rejection. In our experiments, nearly 90% of individuals exhibited fusion, suggesting that comb jellies might lack this allo-recognition mechanism.”