Saying that an animal cuts off its head and then regenerates its entire new body may sound unbelievable, but for two species of marine gastropods, this is a surprising reality.
Scientists from Japan discovered these unusual creatures. They observed strange behavior of animals by accident and they have no idea how or why snails do it, but the first suspicions surfaced.
Some researchers believe that snails, by dismembering the head from the body, remove internal parasites, that do affect reproduction, but scientists say thorough research is needed to prove it.
The process of detaching the head from the body of the snail
After the head detaches from the rest of the body in these unusual snails the wound heals quickly. The head begins immediately fidget and eat algae. Interestingly, it only takes a week for their heart to regenerate, while a whole new body is formed in three weeks. However, it doesn’t work the other way around. The abandoned snail bodies cannot form a new head.
Researchers believe that this process slows down over time and older snails are unable to regenerate, therefore they die as a result of decapitation.
The discovery happened by accident
Professor Yoichi Yusa and PhD student Sayaka Mitoh of the Women’s University in Nara, Japan, came across this phenomenon by accident. Yusa usually studies marine gastropods from hatch to death for their characteristics and life cycle.
One day a band he noticed a bodyless head moving around the tank and began to investigate this strange feature.
Mitoh said.
These findings point to a new form of autotomy in the animal kingdom.
Source: “Daily Mail”
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