Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
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Dragon boogers” go by many names. “Moss animals,” for one, and “bryozoans,” for another. They’re also known as “ectoprocta,” meaning “anus outside.” If you’re unfamiliar with the phylogeny of aquatic invertebrates, it might seem unnecessary to distinguish creatures with anuses outside from creatures with anuses inside. And yet, it is necessary—which is the beauty of water-dwelling blobs.
See, water allows evolution to do amazing things. Where we landlubbers have to defecate downwards, water-bound creatures are free to spread their waste (and sperm and eggs) wherever they please. Up, down—who cares? It’s all just gonna float around everywhere anyway. This means that sometimes evolution creates an animal that has a large opening, vaguely resembling a hollow anemone, holding both the mouth- and the butt-holes. These are the entoprocta, or anus-insiders.
But we’re not here to talk about them. We’re here to talk about the glorious ectoprocta, who prefer to dispel their brown bodies (yes, that is actually the scientific term) to the side of the tentacles containing their mouth bits. Like civilized animals should.
Volunteers recently found oodles and oodles of these moss animals in Lost Lagoon, which is an entirely real (albeit man-made) lake in Stanley Park, Vancouver. They’ve been described as having the texture of “three-day-old Jello—a bit firm but gelatinous.” Yum!
Look at the mysterious ‘dragon booger’ found in Vancouver's Lost Lagoon
I just wanted to share this whole bit of TMI and we could see the complete grossness together.
See, water allows evolution to do amazing things. Where we landlubbers have to defecate downwards, water-bound creatures are free to spread their waste (and sperm and eggs) wherever they please. Up, down—who cares? It’s all just gonna float around everywhere anyway. This means that sometimes evolution creates an animal that has a large opening, vaguely resembling a hollow anemone, holding both the mouth- and the butt-holes. These are the entoprocta, or anus-insiders.
But we’re not here to talk about them. We’re here to talk about the glorious ectoprocta, who prefer to dispel their brown bodies (yes, that is actually the scientific term) to the side of the tentacles containing their mouth bits. Like civilized animals should.
Volunteers recently found oodles and oodles of these moss animals in Lost Lagoon, which is an entirely real (albeit man-made) lake in Stanley Park, Vancouver. They’ve been described as having the texture of “three-day-old Jello—a bit firm but gelatinous.” Yum!
Look at the mysterious ‘dragon booger’ found in Vancouver's Lost Lagoon
I just wanted to share this whole bit of TMI and we could see the complete grossness together.
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