The discussion of the origin of complex life has been ongoing for centuries. Science fiction narratives have long since theorized about the workings of conscious cell division, where characters can often force their body to heal itself when injured. While early explanations relied upon speculation derived from religious ideas, modern science has delved into research regarding the methods of developing multicellularity from a biological perspective. This research resulted in the relatively certain knowledge that two mutually exclusive means of multicellularity existed: clonal and aggregate. However, a recent observation of Choanoeca flexa, a species of choanoflagellate, has displayed behaviors of a third method of achieving multicellularity. Choanoflagellates—which are the closest unicellular relatives of animals—are water-dwelling eukaryotic organisms. All known species of choanoflagellates replicate into colonies by undergoing cell division, which is characteristic of the clonal method of achieving multicellularity. However, in splash pools off the coast of Curaçao, researchers observed that C. felxa formed colonies too quickly after environmental aggravation for clonal means of reproduction to be responsible. By staining different types of C. felxa cells with fluorescent dyes, researchers found that single cell populations of C. felxa would form chimeric multicellular colonies via temporary clustering, which is characteristic of aggregation. Furthermore, these chimeric clusters could then continue to replicate clonally for further colony growth. This observation suggests that not only can C. felxa replicate through purely clonal and purely aggregate processes, but also by a combination of both methods.