Sunday, March 16, 2008

Scary monsters make baby sand dollars split in two

Now here's an idea...if danger threatens, split in two and maybe one of you will survive. That's what baby sand dollars do.

When they are just 4-day-old cute tiny pluteus larvae (left), the baby sand dollars split in two when confronted with the smell of dover sole (a predatory fish).

Reminds me of the joke of two guys threatened by a bear, one bends over to lace up his running shoes and the other says "you can't outrun a bear." The first guy responds "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you."

Hat tip: Mike Hirshfield

1 comment:

Kate said...

Now THAT'S interesting! I'll have to learn more about this!