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close-up image of a bright green sea slug with ruffled, leaf-like edges, resembling a piece of underwater lettuce. Its surface is speckled with golden dots, and delicate frills ripple along its sides as it floats near strands of green algae. The creature’s translucent texture and vivid color give it an almost plant-like appearance.

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close-up image of a bright green sea slug with ruffled, leaf-like edges, resembling a piece of underwater lettuce. Its surface is speckled with golden dots, and delicate frills ripple along its sides as it floats near strands of green algae. The creature’s translucent texture and vivid color give it an almost plant-like appearance.
https://cdn.hosted.spacebear.ee/sb-2393d180df251611821d77e6f02bf209/media_attachments/files/115/583/452/619/911/515/original/251354f797443765.png

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Clive Thompson (clive@saturation.social)'s status on Friday, 21-Nov-2025 07:57:47 JST Clive Thompson

so apparently sea slugs eat a lot of algae ...
... and some have figured out how to incorporate the algae's plastids into their own bodies ...
... so the sea slugs *photosynthesize*
they can live for months off the sun -- an animal acting like a plant
weird and awesome
item #6 in my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, free here: https://buttondown.com/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-40-the-chthulucene-doom-on-a-satellite/

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