(Image: Nature Picture Library/Rex Features)
Ocean-going sprite This semi-transparent gossamer larva floats in the ocean, feeding on algae. It can grow to an extraordinary 4 centimetres long before it begins its remarkable transformation. Instead of merely shedding its skin to become an adult, a cluster of cells lining the larva's insides grows, like an alien invader, until eventually this interloper migrates to the outside and swims away as the adult creature, leaving the larva to live on for several months.
But what does this sprite become?
2 comments:
Fascinating article. I don't understand whether the larval form can continue to live on after the new starfish swims off. Do you know?
Yes ,can continue to live on after,but only for several months.
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