this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] Mannimarco@lemmy.world 51 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I mean they're only weird because we're not used to them, giraffes, narwals and sea-urchins are pretty weird as well.

Not to mention something like the platypus

[–] SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Even snakes are bizarre. We have a creature with no limbs, just a very dangerous head and a potentially very dangerous body, and it uses its skin to move. And they can eat things whole which are several times the size of their head. Seriously, wtf.

Oh and even better, they range in size from adorable little worms to big enough to eat a human whole. And what kind of exercise do constrictors even do to get strong enough to suffocate something that outweighs it??

Even weirder is that snakes evolved from critters with legs, and multiple times independently. They were like "legs? We don't need no stinking legs."

[–] HairyHarry@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh, how about those furless apes? I heard their offsprings have to be supervised ALL THE TIME for several years or they might kill themselves by accident. Crazy!

[–] ExtraMedicated@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Edit: Shit I misread that comment.

[–] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 36 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Just think of the Cambrian as Life being roughly a multiplayer Spore-like game doing an open alpha test or an early access release.

[–] Karcinogen@discuss.tchncs.de 32 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They look like an average Spore creation. We have sword meatloaf, spiky hotdog, spaghetti mouth, and Bob.

[–] nichtburningturtle 5 points 1 month ago

Spore should sue for copyright infringement!

[–] Rooskie91@discuss.online 23 points 1 month ago

Leave them alone, they're just products of their environments!!

[–] Assman@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Why did swords sticking out of brain need to evolve?

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Because up to that point animal life was closer to sponges than anything else. Maybe a moving blob here and there in the ediacaran. Then shit evolved predation, mobility, pursuit sensation… And so what does the blob do? The simplest thing that by chance can change in its dna. And what is that? Hardened spikes with no real anchoring or repurposing. Just swords sticking out of a brain.

Meanwhile someone else is evolving to float around and have the majority of its body mass by stingers and someone else is becoming all of bugs

[–] spicytuna62@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Anomalocaris means "weird shrimp" so I get the feeling the Cambrian freaks out the nerds sometimes, too.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My favorite ancient critter (actually pre-Cambrian) is Omnidont which means "all teeth".

[–] Floodedwomb@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The first picture is actually just an ancient router.

linksys brainswordianos

[–] iflyspaceships@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Wiwaxia, Hallucigenia, Tully Monster and Anomalocaris if anyone's wondering

[–] BugleFingers@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

It's not a phase mom

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The aliens we were imagining as children?

We are way past that.

[–] ObsidianZed@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Well someone hasn't played Spore.

[–] BluesF@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

These just look like normal deep sea creatures. Ever see those videos with the marine biologists talking while they explore the deep with an unmanned submarine? They find weird shit like this all the time.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

It's just a phase mom!