In a Frankenstein-y feat, a small, gelatinous sea creature can merge its body with a neighbor’s. The animals — called sea walnuts, a type of comb jelly — can then sync up their bodily functions, researchers report October 7 in Current Biology.
Biologist Kei Jokura first discovered the mashup when he found an unusually large sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) floating in a collection tank. Turned out, it was actually two jellies joined together.
Jokura, who did this work while at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., suspected they had become injured in the collection process and, due to tight quarters, fused their bodies while healing. Comb
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