The Fastest-Growing Animal in the World
In just 48 hours, the salp can reach maturity, making it the fastest-growing multicellular animal on Earth with a significant impact on ocean health. The salp (Salpa fusiformis) is found across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, feeding on phytoplankton and anything small enough to get caught in its feeding net. Often described as “jellyfish balls” or “slimy buckets,” these marine organisms are transparent and gelatinous, according to Live Science.
There are over 70 species of salps worldwide, with Salpa fusiformis being the most common. Salps can be found from the ocean surface to depths of around 800 meters. They have a barrel-like shape, ranging from 0.2 cm at birth to 10 cm when fully grown. They can form long chains drifting in the sea with the current.
Salps propel themselves using jet propulsion. They pump seawater through their bodies with muscular bands around their midsection. As water is pushed out the back, salps collect food and move forward. Due to this mechanism, they belong to the class of hydrozoans.
Unlike jellyfish, salps lack stinging cells. Their diet consists of phytoplankton, but they filter everything that can be caught in their mucous net. By filtering large volumes of water, they play a crucial role in combating climate change. A salp swarm spanning 100,000 km² can capture up to 4,000 tons of CO2 in a single night.
Salps undergo two distinct life stages: the asexual oozoid stage and the sexual blastozooid stage. When the asexual oozoid is ready to reproduce, it produces long chains of salps, each a clone of itself. These salps then develop into sexual blastozooids. Eggs develop inside the body, and salps give birth to larvae. The larvae swim away and grow into asexual oozoids. Eventually, the entire chain transforms into males, releasing sperm to fertilize the eggs of adjacent female blastozooids.
Maturing in just 48 hours, salps are the fastest-growing multicellular animals on Earth, increasing their body length by 10% every hour.
