Local NewsNational

Actions

Researchers discover sea slugs that can regrow

Posted at 12:16 PM, Mar 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-08 16:39:15-05

Creepy, cool, gross, or all three?

Researchers have discovered two species of sea slugs that can cut off their own heads and then grow new bodies.

A study published Monday in Current Biology details the findings.

About a third of one of the slug species the researchers studied began to self-decapitate less than a year after hatching.

After 20 days, those slugs had regenerated their entire bodies.

It's not clear why these slugs go through the process.