Bizarre sea slug is half plant, half animal..

[9Lives]

Pretty amazing..I'm sure many of us have pondered over the ''magic'' of photosynthesis.

This slug took it to the next level..


http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/bizarre-sea-slug-is-half-plant-half-animal-0

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

Wow, so cool

 

[cork144]

wasnt this posted a couple of days ago

 

[redspaghetti]

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

“Steps in evolution can be more creative than I ever imagined,” said Martin.

I'll second that...
Amazing to see evolution in process, and in a process so bizarre...
Mother Nature's GMO?

 

[9Lives]

I'll second that...
Amazing to see evolution in process, and in a process so bizarre...
Mother Nature's GMO?

Seems to be...

It is mind boggling how intelligent evolution is..Humans have done so many amazing things. But we still can't make it work within the system of nature like every other creature can. So it remains to be seen how effective of a survival tool human intelligence is in the long run..

 

[noreason]

it's very strange how mother Nature acts...but at the same time it's so rational...

try to think carnivorous plants,that eat insects and decompose them to ''digest'' proteins.....the opposite of this ''sea slug''

 

[j6p]

That is amazing. The slug can go for a year without eating, as long as it gets enough light. Photosynthesis drives the hijacked chloroplasts in its cells to produce sugars, which feed the slug. LOL

 

[lost in a sea]

quite often systems like this arise through symbiosis.......... like clams on hydrothermal vents than keep bacteria in their cells to make use of hydrogen sulfide....

mitochondria are thought to have entered a plant cell, as another organism at first, but quickly formed a symbiotic relationship, forming the progenator to eukaryotic cells..

nearly all plants form symbiotic relationships with, all sorts, of different fungi in the soil as well........nature just goes with what works, thats why anything is possible....

corals are another good example of an animal (community of animals) that makes use of photosynthesis, through unicellular algae.....

 

[Okiedope]

haha i was just about to post this on here. this creature is truely amazing. makes me wonder if mammals could ever be capable of photosynthesis.

anyway, it looks like something you would see on Avatar. thanks for posting.

 

[Grat3fulh3ad]

Photosynthesizing mammal...

 

[Ganglere]

Damn, if I had those chloroplasts I'd be spending my time on the beach for sure... Maybe one foot in the surf to hydrate, but beer would still do that

 

[river rat01]

i want one for my aquarium.

 

[Stoner4Life]

a plain and simple case of 'you are what you eat'.......


my grandfather was in on the alaskan gold rush and the men
were living on salmon for weeks during the upstream spawn
run, finally they'd decided they'd had their fill of fish so they
decided to kill a grizzly for some good meat, only problem was
that the bear tasted just like all the salmon it was eating too.

 

[Pythagllio]

it's very strange how mother Nature acts...but at the same time it's so rational...

try to think carnivorous plants,that eat insects and decompose them to ''digest'' proteins.....the opposite of this ''sea slug''

Read something from a guy that pointed out that all plants will decompose animals, the only real difference with 'carnivorous' plants is that they grab stuff from above.