Imagine that during a boat trip at the bottom you will meet an abandoned sock, and even purple. Amazing Still would! Moreover, this may well be one of the most mysterious animals for modern science. The inhabitants of sea and ocean waters are generally poorly understood. That is why it is very interesting to learn something new from the animal world. Let's try to figure out what a marine inhabitant is - a purple sock.
Sock or deflated ball?
This miracle of nature was first discovered a little over 60 years ago and, in addition to official scientific names, firmly secured the unspoken name “lilac sock”. The description of this marine animal comes down to this very characteristic: a lilac color, an indefinite shape, resembling a sock thrown on the floor or a balloon that was deflated, with a single small hole.
The official scientific name for the Xenoturbella marine riddle. In nature there are animals of different sizes, the largest of which reaches half a meter in length. Due to its especially large size, this species was separated into a separate category, calling it Xenoturbella monstrosa. On this, certain characteristics of the animal called "purple sock" end, but the unusualness is just beginning.
Extra organs off?
A detailed study of this inhabitant of the underwater depths was seriously puzzled by scientists. It turned out that the purple sock is a marine animal that does not have a brain, spine or even intestines for digesting food. The only organ on the body of this miracle is the hole, which serves both for the entry and exit of food.
Initially, scientists managed to isolate the DNA of a purple sock, which showed that it is a representative of the mollusk class. But later it turned out that the purple sock simply copies the DNA of the food it eats.
Based on the fact that most often representatives of this species of marine animals are found in the habitats of mollusks, it can be assumed that the sock also eats them. But how this happens is also a mystery to scientists.
The fact is that the purple sock has neither teeth, nor villi for pushing food, nor any proboscis. Therefore, exactly how the food enters the mouth, also remains in the category of the inexplicable.
Where can I meet this natural wonder?
Unfortunately, just swimming in the sea in the summer, such a sea miracle can not be found. The creature's habitat is the Pacific Ocean. For the first time there was discovered a purple sock in 1949. Since then, this animal is found infrequently, its population is very small.
The closest place to a person to find this marine animal is the coast of California.
High Mission Sock
Disputes by scientists regarding the classification of Xenoturbella have reached agreement that this animal belongs to the simplest organisms related to worms. Its study continues, but one marine researchers say clearly - this marine animal came to us from the very initial stages of evolution, so that it can be called one of the oldest inhabitants on the planet.
A detailed study of the purple sock will allow scientists to fill the existing gaps in knowledge about the evolutionary process and reinforce them with a vivid example. After all, Xenoturbella, or the purple sock, is an animal whose organs have yet to develop. Therefore, knowledge about this animal suggests that such vital organs such as the brain, eyes, intestines, and others, without which other living organisms could not exist, were formed and the purple sock still exists.
In the meantime, this marine mystery is in no hurry to reveal all its secrets: scientists have not been able to see how the purple sock takes food and is freed from already digested products.