Lobster Larvae Fearlessly Eats Jellyfish, Unharmed!

Researchers are closely monitoring the activity of baby lobsters to see how they devour venomous and enormous creatures such as jellyfishes without feeling the electrifying sting.

Scientists from Hiroshima University studied the lobster species called Ibacus novemdentatus to understand why they are not affected with jellyfish sting. They found a special membrane the coats the creature while allowing important substances to pass through and enter their system.

Lobster larvae are actually slippery and transparent, unlike the fully-grown red-shelled meal many are familiar with. It is also as small as an adult's thumb and swims freely along with groups of jellyfish while eating some of them to mature, as reported in Phys Org.

The authors describe the jellyfish, such as the Japanese sea nettle, to have a "venom-filled explosively penetrant cindae" that looks like tiny needles that sink and fill the victims' bodies with deadly toxins. But surprisingly, the lobster's intestine seems to be unaffected by this attack like what is reported in IFL Science.

To investigate this wonder, the scientists took care of lobster larvae in a controlled laboratory and exclusively fed it with Japanese sea nettle jellyfish. As the creature excretes feces, they found that the excrement was encapsulated with a special peritrophic membrane. This prevents the toxin from getting contact with the sensitive intestinal wall.

According to author Kaori Wakabayashi, "Based on the contents of their feces, we think that the lobster larvae only digest fluid-type foods, which is vital to know as we develop an artificial food for farmed lobsters to grow efficiently and healthily."

To further explain that the crustaceans are not as simple as immune to the jellyfish's venom, they injected the lobster with crude tentacle extract. Results showed nine out of ten lobsters died because the larvae are likely unable to digest the cnidae or any of its components, but its poop membranes allow the creature to be protected from it.

The study was published in the journal Plankton and Benthos Research.