00:00Modern-day jellyfish evolved quite a long time ago, with their species going back some 500 to
00:09700 million years. But despite being rather ancient and being invertebrates, scientists now
00:14say they're likely much smarter than previously thought. Jellyfish only have a thousand nerve
00:18cells, and they also don't have a brain. Still, researchers say they are capable of learning at
00:23a much higher level than anyone expected. Researchers found that when hunting creatures
00:27amongst mangroves in the Caribbean, box jellyfish must determine their distance from the roots of
00:32these plants, or they can get caught up in them. But a jellyfish's visual system relies heavily on
00:36contrast, something that changes in the colorization of the root systems of mangroves on a daily basis
00:41due to rain, meaning jellyfish are forced to make new calculations daily, learning from previous
00:46contrast changes amongst the root color. The researchers say this likely has to do with how
00:50intelligence potential is more related to the complexity of a nervous system versus brain size,
00:55with the researchers writing, quote, this suggests that advanced learning may have been one of the
00:59most important evolutionary benefits of the nervous system from the very beginning.
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