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Science
Related: About this forumAbsurd Creature of the Week: The 100-Foot Sea Critter That Deploys a Net of Death
http://www.wired.com/2014/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-siphonophore/Absurd Creature of the Week: The 100-Foot Sea Critter That Deploys a Net of Death
By Matt Simon
08.29.14
As far as conjoined twins go, they dont come more famous than Chang and Eng Bunker, who in the 1800s traveled the world lecturing and generally being gawked at by rubes. They even gave us the term Siamese twins (they were from Siam, which is now Thailand). Eventually they settled down on a farm in North Carolina, married two sisters (uh ), and between them sired 21 children.
The logistics of that seem, well, a bit complicated, if not entirely awkward. There are conjoined twins in our oceans, though, that pull off something far more remarkable. These are the siphonophores, some 180 known species of gelatinous strings that can grow to 100 feet long, making them some of the longest critters on the planet. But instead of growing as a single body like virtually every other animal, siphonophores clone themselves thousands of times over into half a dozen different types of specialized cloned bodies, all strung together to work as a teama very deadly team at that.
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Absurd Creature of the Week: The 100-Foot Sea Critter That Deploys a Net of Death (Original Post)
unhappycamper
Sep 2014
OP
BEZERKO
(592 posts)1. I wonder at what depth they filmed this.
looks really deep!
3rdwaydem
(277 posts)2. Very cool! Thanks for posting.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)3. many astonishing images here
Judi Lynn
(160,217 posts)4. Thanks for the image link. Unbelievable! n/t
Judi Lynn
(160,217 posts)5. Never knew these critters existed. Thank you. n/t