DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Penny Can
HTML https://pennycan.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Travel
*****************************************************
#Post#: 21625--------------------------------------------------
Pyrosome in Africa
DIR By: Mac
Date: August 2, 2013, 12:16 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[glow=red,2,300]The 60 foot long jet powered animal you’ve
probably never heard of[/glow]
--- Quote ---
> I was living in Africa the first time I saw a pyrosome, and I
nearly cried. I was doing research on plankton, which meant long
days staring down a microscope plucking through tiny dead
things. And then there it was. I actually gasped in recognition.
My first real life pyrosome. Among many marine-inclined folks
such as moi, pyrosomes are like unicorns. Completely improbable,
utterly mysterious. And why?
>
> For starters: if the Borg and the Clone Wars had a baby it
would be a pyrosome. One long pyrosomes is actually a collection
of thousands of clones, with each individual capable of copying
itself and adding to the colony. And unlike members of the Borg,
which are mentally connected, pyrosome members are physically
connected– actually sharing tissues. And while the Borg live in
a big scary ship, pyrosomes are the big scary ship. The whole
colony is shaped like a giant thimble with a point on one end
and an opening on the other, and in some species this opening
can be up to 6 feed (2 meters) wide– large enough to fit a full
grown human inside [1]. Under normal circumstances, this sort of
thing would scare the crap out of me.
>
> But the pyrosome I found was cute. No larger than a jellybean.
As I looked closer, I realized I could see right through it.
Right into the guts. Each little “wire basket” is the stomach of
one member of the colony. They take water in through a mouth on
the outside of their space-ship body, pass it through the little
basket to filter out the nom bits, and squirt water out the
other end, into the big hollow space in the middle. Pyrosomes
look terrifying, but like many giants of the sea, they’re
actually filter feeders.
>
>
HTML http://deepseanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ssiebert_pyrosome-600x429.jpg
>
> And it’s this filter feeding that gives pyrosomes their rocket
power. Well, almost. My friend, aerospace engineer turned
biologist, Henry Astley, put it like this: “jets have to do four
things: Suck, squeeze, bang and blow.” Suck in air, compress
it, explode some fuel, and blow the resulting force in the
direction opposite where you want to go. The squeeze and bang
part need compressible gas and fuel. Two things pyrosomes don’t
have. But the other two, suck and blow, are expert territory for
these guys.
>
> Many animals use sucking and blowing movement to get around.
Squid and octopuses use it, as well as certain types of
jellyfish, which move like squid by sucking water under their
bell and then shooting it out. This is a pulsing jet-like
movement. Only one opening doing both the sucking and the
blowing, and therefore the animal moves in fits and starts. Not
at all like the smooth, constant stream of a true jets engine.
The only animal to move with such fluid jet-like propulsion is
the pyrosome. Because each member noshes on tiny plankton, they
must constantly suck water in and over their baskets, and
constantly blow waste out the hollow center. Thus they are
moving at a steady, albeit painfully slow, speed.
>
> So they’re giant, terrifying looking, and trolling through the
depths of the ocean, waiting for you to swim in one end and get
stuck. Maybe. But fortunately, in addition to being slow moving
filter feeders, they’re also delicate and fluffy. One diver
described a pyrosome saying “it felt like an exquisitely soft
feather boa” [2]. And this is why I almost cried when I saw my
first wee pyrosome. Despite their improbable nature, these
horrifying giants, the spawn of the worst movie villains, are
actually delicate and fragile. The bizarre unicorns of the sea.
--- End Quote ---
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EQGA_4BZ5s
#Post#: 21646--------------------------------------------------
Re: Pyrosome in Africa
DIR By: Chiprocks1
Date: August 2, 2013, 8:49 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Never heard of this till now and 100% fascinated by it.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1