Post #13726

Argonaut: An octopus with a shell that protects nothing Clams with shells are nothing new at all. Our gardens are devoured by snails, paleontologists rejoice at the ammonites they find, and bivalves are firmly established in rivers and fancy restaurants. But an octopus with a shell is something unusual. Moreover, the Argonaut uses it... incorrectly? Look. All normal, adequate mollusks grow shells on themselves using glands located on the mantle - a special fold that covers the back of the body. But in octopuses, the mantle was seriously degraded and lost such glands hundreds of millions of years ago. Therefore, the Argonauts had to reinvent the wheel, and they did not do it in the best way. In the Argonauts, glands for creating shells were formed on a pair of tentacles, which turned out to be terribly inconvenient. First of all, because you literally have to sculpt the sink with your own hands. Secondly, because it is not attached to the body in any way, and it must be constantly held with tentacles. Well, the most unpleasant thing is that the shell turned out to be no thicker than a piece of paper, and this is very small even by the standards of octopuses the length of a palm. But with such introductory information, it’s not clear at all, why does the octopus even need it? It is unsuitable for protection, it limits mobility and doesn’t even help with camouflage! And it is needed for reproduction. The fact is that shells are created only by female Argonauts and only immediately before the mating season. When the shell is finished, the female will lay eggs in it and wait for the male. The male, in turn, when meeting the female, will send her a love message - his own tentacle with reproductive products. This way, they won’t even need to touch each other—just the thing for socially phobic octopuses! As soon as the clutch is fertilized, the female will catch an air bubble in her shell, seal it and leave the offspring forever. Although the sink will not provide protection for the baby, it will turn into a stylish float that looks like abandoned garbage. It does not attract the attention of predators swimming in the water column and is inaccessible to bottom inhabitants! Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot