Did you know that there is a slug that is capable of surviving despite accumulating toxins? It uses them to kill its prey.
Evolution has allowed us to verify how species, apparently weak in an ecosystem, have managed to survive and, furthermore, grow in population numbers. A good example of this is shown by slugs, a type of invertebrate animal that hardly has any measures to guarantee its safety. After all, they do not have the protection that snails do have. Despite this, there is a type of them that has managed to differentiate itself through the development of a unique technique. Is it possible to store toxins to later use on your victims?
This is exactly what the nudibranch family does. These sea slugs live mainly in Queensland, Australia. A new study carried out by local researchers has managed to reach a conclusion. The toxins available to these animals are not generated by themselves, but are accumulated with the aim of use them to quickly weaken their prey. This evolutionary proposal is, without a doubt, the latest example of how wise nature can be to overcome difficulties.
Let’s see, therefore, what are the main characteristics behind this specific type of animal, why it is a curious tool to get food easily under the surface of the water and, of course, to what extent we are faced with a differential proposal to understand the evolutionary development of this family of invertebrate animals.
Sea slugs and their ability to store toxins that are dispersed in the water
According to the information in Mental Floss, the toxin latrunculin A is what allows this set of slugs to have a hole here. It is a type of animal that is capable of filtering water in search of this chemical substance that is scattered in the same. This solution is used to weaken and kill a set of prey that it eats, such as brine shrimp. It is, therefore, a technique that seems to have been polished over time.
In the same way, it is pointed out that this substance can be perceived by the theoretical predators of these mollusks, so it can serve as a defense mechanism. Be that as it may, the truth is that the ability to store this toxin has only attracted the attention of the scientific community. Even so, new studies must be carried out to verify whether there is a relationship between the presence of a greater or lesser amount of toxins and the color of these animals, since there is a whole series of different ranges with tones, sometimes very bright.
Without a doubt, this set of species could be considered real mythological animals due to their ability to survive in such a complicated environment. After all, pollution, the difficulty in obtaining food and, of course, the presence of predators, does nothing but hinder the growth of species seemingly helpless.
It is important to note, however, that we are not dealing with a species that is among the animals in danger of extinction. Present mainly in coral reefs off the australian coast, the availability of these tools has allowed them to maintain a sustainable number of specimens. It is therefore expected that, in the medium term, their presence in these ecosystems can be guaranteed if there is not a whole series of variables that can produce important changes in living conditions. Be that as it may, this is one more example of how nature can contribute to the development of a particular species.