Siphonophores: The clonal colonies that can grow longer than a blue whale (www.livescience.com)

submitted 2 months ago by recreationalplacebos@midwest.social to c/biodiversity@mander.xyz

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The largest animal on Earth is thought to be the blue whale, but these strange sea creatures can grow even longer — reaching up to 150 feet (46 meters) in length.

There are around 175 species of siphonophores living in the deep sea throughout all of Earth’s oceans, although not every species is found in each ocean. Many siphonophores are long and string-like, but some, like the venomous Portuguese man o'war (Physalia physalis), resemble jellyfish.

Although a siphonophore may look like a single animal, it is actually a colony made up of individual organisms called "zooids," which each have a distinct function within the colony despite being genetically identical. Some catch prey and digest food, while others enable the colony to reproduce or swim. An individual zooid cannot survive on its own because they specialize in one function, so they rely on each other to form a "body."

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[-] flora_explora@beehaw.org 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Fascinating!! Thanks for sharing :)

An individual zooid cannot survive on its own because they specialize in one function, so they rely on each other to form a "body."

Really adds another layer in between cells, organs and organism. Is it a colony? Or is it a single organism?

ETA: if anyone wants to see nice videos of them, ev nautilus has some good shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KZsrDGLUJQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeflgYWxyVI

this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024

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Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

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