Isle Of The Dead Is The Best-known Painting Of Swiss Symbolist Artist Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901)

Ok y’all brace yourselves cuz I just learned about a new animal

Yes, that is an animal. Yes, scientists refer to it as the purple sock worm. No, that’s not it’s real name, silly, it’s real name is Xenoturbella!

When these deep-sea socks were first discovered, no one knew what the fuck they were looking at (and, really, can you blame them?). They have no eyes, brains, or digestive tracts. They are literally just a bag of wet slop. DNA analysis initially seemed to indicate that they were related to mollusks, until the scientists realized that DNA sample was from the clams they had recently eaten (yes, they can eat with no organs. We don’t know how.)

Scientists then analyzed the data again and tentatively placed them in the group that includes acorn worms, saying that their ancestors probably had eyes, brains, and organs, but simplified as a response to their deep sea ecosystems.

Later DNA testing has since shown that they are their own thing! Xenoturbella, along with another simple and problematic to place creature called acoelomorphs, belong to their own phylum called Xenacelomorpha! This places them as the sister group to all bilateral animals. So, they just never evolved brains, eyes, or organs. They are a glimpse at a very primitive form of animal that never bothered to change, because apparently what they do works. Rock on, purple sock worm.

How to Make Bagels

my life has only known joy since i learned of elysia chlorotica

E X Q U I S I T E

Eastern Emerald Elysia (Elysia chlorotica), family Plakobranchidae, found along the East Coast of the United States

This creature engages in kleptoplasty, taking the chloroplasts from the algae that it eats, and using the chloroplasts for the waste products they create though photosynthesis. Its kind of a... solar powered sea slug!

These sea slugs are not nudibranch, but are in a different order of gastropods.

image via: Views of Elysia chlorotica from Martha’s Vineyard. Figure 15 of Krug et al., 2016, Zootaxa 4148:1

image via: Karen N. Pelletreau et al.   http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0097477

In the next century, some of our descendants will be living permanently on the Moon and Mars executing almost similar everyday activities as their relations on Earth do. If you are still in doubt of humans living outside the Earth, always remember that space agencies are already putting in the effort to enable our civilization attain such a milestone before the end of this century. Here's how Lunar Gateway will enable space agencies to achieve moon and mars colonization in this century.

Image Credit: https://pin.it/sD2Nsro

“Hippity hoppity this is now my property”

(via)

A different view of Nazaré on a barreling right that takes you into the worst zone ever.

You need to kick out before getting to the rocks down the cliff or your in trouble.

Everything done perfectly.

This shot was done with a drone.