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Unicellular "Enigma" Changes From Predator To Plant and Back

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-don't-eat-greens,-food-eats-greens dept.

SilverEar writes "Imagine a creature that swims and preys on others, but once it eats a certain kind of plant, that plant grows inside it, causing the predator to lose its ability to prey and start using sunlight to make its food. Its preying mouth is replaced by an eye that is needed to find sunlight. This is the Hatena ('enigma' in Japanese). The kicker: when Hatena reproduces, one offspring is a peaceful photosynthesizer with the sun-seeking eye, while the other is yet again a predator with a voracious mouth."

3 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. PETA will be confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Plant or animal! Prepare the soft padded cells.

    1. Re:PETA will be confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Easy solution: they will demand that plants possess the same rights as animals. Since they already demand that animals possess the same rights as humans, it will then follow that they will choose not to eat plant-based food just as they refuse to eat animal-based food (i.e., meat). This will leave them without a source of food, and the smart ones will abandon the cause while the dumb ones will die off.

  2. Memeaholic by senorpoco · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our new single celled predatory overlords, but deride their single celled hippy photosynthesizing cousins.