"The Surprising Truth Behind the Mysterious Jellyfish: 1,020 Worms with a Unique Purpose"
A mysterious jellyfish-like creature spotted off the shores of Okinawa, Japan, has been identified as a cluster of 1,020 parasitic worms called trematodes. The creature, resembling a jellyfish with tentacles, is actually an aggregation of two types of cercariae, the larval forms of trematodes. These worms have developed a strategy of mimicking prey to increase their chances of being eaten by their target hosts. The researchers suggest that the aggregation helps the worms swim and may increase the number of parasites swallowed in a single gulp. The discovery of this unique case of polymorphism in parasitic flatworms raises questions about the division of labor and reproductive strategies within the colony.