With most species of animals, it is pretty easy to distinguish one member of the species from another. Each individual human, for example, is going to be pretty distinct. Even twins can be identified without too much trouble.

When you look at some animals, however, it gets pretty complicated. In fact, with some species, what most people would see as an individual animal is actually a collection of lots of tiny creatures working together. Learning about these types of species is fascinating and helps to illustrate just how amazing nature can be.

Coral

If you’ve ever been diving in the ocean, you may have seen corals growing. While they look like plants, they are actually animals. To make them even more unusual, what may look like a single coral is actually a large number of tiny polyps. Each polyp is its own member of the species, though they will grow together and rely on each other for survival.

Portuguese Man o’ War

The Portuguese Man o’ War is commonly called one of the most venomous jellyfish in the world. This is odd, however, since it is not actually a jellyfish at all.

Instead, the Man o’ War is a colony of identical clones, which are called zooids. When these zooids come together, they form a large jellyfish-like creature. Each of the zooids can specialize in what they do, allowing the colony to survive better than they could on their own.

Erenna

The Erenna was first identified in 2005 deep in the ocean. This is an example of a unique creature that uses red fluorescence to catch the attention of its prey and draw it in. While it looks like an underwater caterpillar, it is actually made up of large number of members of the species all working together as a colony.

You can learn more about Erenna in this quick but informative video:

Why Colony Living?

There are a surprising number of creatures in the animal kingdom that survive this way. There are some significant benefits to working together as a colony rather than evolving into one larger creature.

Most of these creatures, for example, are more resilient to damage than would be possible if it were a single organism. Since each tiny part of the colony is separate, the group can regenerate or ‘grow’ back pieces that are eaten or otherwise damaged. Of course, this type of animal also has some serious limitations.

Scientists are always trying to learn more about these amazing colony creatures and how they evolved to survive and thrive in this unique way.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.