The animal that eats its own brain: Strange life of the sea squirt
Indian Express·2h ago·Curiosity
What Happened
Sea squirts, tiny marine creatures, undergo remarkable transformation from mobile larvae to stationary adults. During metamorphosis, they consume approximately 80% of their brain and central nervous system through autophagy, a self-digestion process. Larval sea squirts possess ~200 neurons and a tail for swimming, but after settling onto rocks, they become filter feeders anchored in place, shedding unnecessary neural tissue.
Key Entities
Sea squirtCiona intestinalisMarine creatureAutophagyLarvaMetamorphosis