A groundbreaking scientific study has revealed that the comb jelly, a marine invertebrate, is believed to be the oldest known animal to have dwelled on planet Earth.

The research, published by the journal Nature, claims that comb jellies were likely the first animals to have appeared on our planet.

According to Daniel Rokhsar, a UC Berkeley professor and co-author of the study, "the most recent common ancestor of all animals probably lived 600 or 700 million years ago".

This clip, filmed by a marine biologist, shows a bioluminescent comb jelly twisting and turning through the pitch-black ocean near Ponza, Italy.

Alexander Semenov, who captured these visuals, said: "It's a ctenophore that can grow more than 2 and a half meters in length.

"It looks like a jelly ribbon with a mission control centre and part-time mouth in the middle.

"Unlike other combs, Cestum has learned to swim with undulating body movements.

"Another rather unexpected ability a Cestum boasts is to turn from completely transparent to radiantly coloured within seconds. Apparently, they somehow change the structure of the body's surface, which then starts to reflect light instead of letting it pass through. It looks fantastic!"

Semenov revealed that so far, scientists haven't been able to explain the aforementioned transformation behaviour.

'A fascinating video has surfaced from Ponza, Italy, which offers a close look at Cestum veneris, a one-of-a-kind comb jelly.

"It's a ctenophore that can grow more than two and a half meters in length," filmer and marine biologist, Alexander Semenov said about the mysterious creature in the clip. "It looks like a jelly ribbon with a mission control center and part-time mouth in the middle."

"Unlike other combs, Cestum has learned to swim with undulating body movements," he continued.

"Another rather unexpected ability a Cestum boasts is to turn from completely transparent to radiantly colored within seconds. Apparently, they somehow change the structure of the body's surface, which then starts to reflect light instead of letting it pass through. It looks fantastic!"

Alexander revealed that so far, scientists haven't been able to explain the aforementioned transformation behavior.


Name: Alexander Semenov
Location: Ponza, Italy'