Imagine that during a boat trip at the bottom you will meet an abandoned sock, and even purple. Marvelous? Still would! Moreover, it 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 balloon?
This miracle of nature was first discovered a little over 60 years ago and, in addition to official scientific names, has firmly established the unspoken name "lilac sock". The description of this marine animal comes down to precisely this characteristic: purple in color, an indefinite shape, reminiscent of a sock thrown on the floor or a balloon that has deflated, with a single small hole.
The official scientific name for the marine mystery Xenoturbella. 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 singled out in a separate category, calling it Xenoturbella monstrosa. This is where certain characteristics of the animal called the "lilac sock" end, but the unusual ones are onlystart.
Extra organs off?
A detailed study of this inhabitant of the underwater depths seriously puzzled scientists. It turned out that the purple sock is a marine animal that does not have a brain, spine, or even an intestine to digest food. The only organ on the body of this miracle is a hole that simultaneously serves to enter and exit food.
Initially, scientists were able to isolate the DNA of a purple sock, which showed that it was a member of the mollusc class. But later it turned out that the purple sock simply copies the DNA of the food it eats.
Based on the fact that representatives of this species of marine animals are most often found in the habitats of mollusks, it can be assumed that it is them that the sock feeds on. But how this happens is also a mystery to scientists.
The fact is that the lilac sock has neither teeth nor villi to push food, nor any proboscis. Therefore, exactly how food enters the mouth opening also remains in the category of the inexplicable.
Where can you find this miracle of nature?
Unfortunately, just swimming in the sea in the summer, you will not meet such a marine miracle. The habitat of the creature is the Pacific Ocean. The purple sock was first discovered there in 1949. Since then, this animal has been found infrequently, its population is quite small.
The closest place to humans to find this marine animal is the coast of California.
High Mission Sock
Disputes between scientists regarding the classification of Xenoturbella have reached agreement that this animal belongs to the simplest organisms related to worms. Its study continues, but marine researchers say one thing for sure - this marine animal has come down to us from the very initial stages of evolution, so it can be called one of the most ancient inhabitants on the planet.
Detailed study of the purple sock will allow scientists to fill existing gaps in knowledge about the evolutionary process and back them up with a clear example. For Xenoturbella, or the purple sock, is an animal whose organs have yet to develop. Therefore, knowledge about this animal suggests how such vital organs as the brain, eyes, intestines, and others were formed in the process of evolution, without which other living organisms cannot exist, and the purple sock still manages to eat.
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 eats and gets rid of already digested products.
