Meet the Facetotectans, a group of tiny crustaceans that have been raising big questions among biologists. These are the larvae, the juvenile form of this organism. We know how this story goes: larvae metamorphose into adults, sometimes undergoing spectacular changes – tadpoles into frogs, caterpillars into butterflies . The only problem with Facetotectans is that we have absolutely no idea what their adult form even is. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Also known as “y-larvae”, these miniature marine creatures closely resemble young barnacles. Famed for decorating the hulls of ships , rocks, and flotsam, barnacles’ sedentary adulthood is preceded by a larval phase during which they can freely swim around.

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