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| Pluteus; Organisms serving as living wombs for others? | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 19 2018, 01:30 AM (318 Views) | |
| Solen | Jan 19 2018, 01:30 AM Post #1 |
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Fetus
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This is an idea that I have been messing around with lately for my current exobiology project. : Background info : On earth, sea urchins cast off gametes into the surrounding water where they meet to form a zygote. As the zygote develops, a specialized structure known as a pluteus forms around it. The pluteus has a rudimentary internal skeleton, a single chamber on which the blastocyst attaches itself, cilia for locomotion and food gathering, a small mouth-like pore through which the developing sea urchin obtains nutrients and an anus through which waste is exuded from. The pluteus behaves like a womb for the sea urchin inside. Once it is ready to emerge, the structure turns itself inside out, revealing a fully formed sea urchin. I am not sure if this is the case, but it seems as though the pluteus is a separate entity from the developing sea urchin inside until one engulfs the other (If I am wrong, please let me know.). ![]() For my project, I would like to feature a group of organisms that reproduce through parthenogenesis, are immobile as adults, are photosynthetic and cast their offspring to the wind with the use of hydrogen-filled bladders. These offspring would be stored in a "pluteus" capable of powered-flight, which would provide nutrients to the embryo until finding an appropriate place to land (through an internal fatty-body). Upon landing, the photosynthetic larva leaves the body of the pluteus, burrows into the surrounding soil and feeds off of nutrients provided by the decaying pluteus as it becomes part of the surrounding soil. This would be similar to the fruiting bodies of plants on earth, but would be capable of movement of evading predators. Major questions : Now that I have explained the concept, I need to figure out a way that this could have evolved through natural means. The idea of offspring being born with young developing inside of them is nothing new (Aphids are capable of doing so along with a few other organisms here on earth). The question still remains though : how would the two (the pluteus and the larva inside) be able to diversify as much given that they were produced through parthenogenesis? Any ideas? If you are sufficiently confused... so am I. Edited by Solen, Jan 19 2018, 01:32 AM.
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| Rodlox | Jan 19 2018, 01:36 AM Post #2 |
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Superhuman
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several options come to mind: * parthogenetic sex. it happens. (some lizards, bacteria, some microfauna) * natural variation. * enviromental triggers (whether an increase in the % of salt or some chemical, or the pluteuses were/weren't crowded together, etc) |
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.---------------------------------------------. Parts of the Cluster Worlds: "Marsupialless Australia" (what-if) & "Out on a Branch" (future evolution) & "The Earth under a still sun" (WIP) | |
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| Solen | Jan 19 2018, 02:19 AM Post #3 |
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Fetus
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several options come to mind: * parthogenetic sex. it happens. (some lizards, bacteria, some microfauna) * natural variation. * enviromental triggers (whether an increase in the % of salt or some chemical, or the pluteuses were/weren't crowded together, etc) [/quote]I agree with what you are saying about natural variation ; maybe the variation between the pluteus and the larva could have arisen in a similar manner to the variation we see in polymorphic female worker castes in ants (both a major and a minor worker share the same genetic background, but their morphological charecteristics are dependent on nutrition as opposed to a genetic-preset.). I had allready mentioned that they would be parthenogenetic. How about this. Here's a second theory : What if they featured two distinct variations across their populations : A seasonal flying varient (which would be produced through parthenogenesis) and an immobile, photosynthetic varient that has an annual life cycle. Flying individuals would emerge from the body of the immobile variant and would then go on to find other immobile individuals. The two then would copulate and the winged individual would be fertilized in the process. The winged individual would then go on to find a suitable nesting spot, give birth to the larva and then decay into the surrounding soil ; starting the process again the following year. Extra hidden bonus : Maybe several species would become neotenic and would be able to breed / spread their progyny (by breeding with one another) without the use of the immobile varient. This would give rise to large, arial predators like modern-day raptors on earth! Edited by Solen, Jan 19 2018, 02:20 AM.
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| Yiqi15 | Jan 19 2018, 07:23 AM Post #4 |
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Prime Specimen
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When I first saw this, I thought "well that's what parasitism is". Then as I read more, this got weird. |
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| Solen | Jan 19 2018, 11:09 AM Post #5 |
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Fetus
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weird good or weird bad? lol |
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| Yiqi15 | Jan 19 2018, 11:48 AM Post #6 |
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Prime Specimen
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Weird good. |
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Current/Completed Projects - After the Holocene: Your run-of-the-mill future evolution project. - A History of the Odessa Rhinoceros: What happens when you ship 28 southern white rhinoceri to Texas and try and farm them? Quite a lot, actually. Future Projects - XenoSphere: The greatest zoo in the galaxy. - The Curious Case of the Woolly Giraffe: A case study of an eocene relic. - Untittled Asylum Studios-Based Project: The truth behind all the CGI schlock - Riggslandia V.II: A World 150 million years in the making Potential Projects - Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being My Zoochat and Fadom Accounts - Zoochat - Fandom | |
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| Solen | Jan 19 2018, 04:29 PM Post #7 |
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Fetus
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Back to what you were saying earlier about parasitism : If you have ever watched the movie "Alien" (which I'm assuming you have), the Xenomorph in the film (as well as all xenomorphs across the entire franchise, with the exception of the human - Xenomorph queen hybrid featured in "Alien resurrection".) resulted from a face hugger ; A separate organism from the adult xenomorph used as a means of providing protection, nutrients and means of dispersal for an embryo inside. Once the embryo has been placed in a suitable host, the face hugger dies soon after. Although this wasn't directly based off of the xenomorph-life cycle, the resemblance is somewhat uncanny. Then again, how many science fiction films feature aliens that function like weird living Russian nesting dolls lol. |
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| Victorbrine | Feb 4 2018, 09:11 AM Post #8 |
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Adult
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I don't think it's a separate "thing" but rather part of it. Like the pluteus is part of the echinoderm. Kinda like how our brain is connected to a series of organs and protected by bones |
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| Solen | Feb 16 2018, 01:53 AM Post #9 |
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Fetus
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In hindsight, I'm going to have to agree with you. I was a bit confused about that, but atleast it opened up the framework for some rather interesting ideas for alien life-cycles. although a bit unlikely, I don't want to rule out the fact that something similar to this could exist under specific circumstances on another habitable world. |
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