Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
- The researchers in Science Advances showed that the P. kofoidii use a one-two punch to stop, pierce, and then tow prey in. First, a needle-like structure called a taeniocyst launches and makes first contact with prey. What that contact accomplishes precisely is unclear, but the taeniocyst adheres to the prey, and researchers observed them violently releasing some amorphous content—a poison perhaps?
Next, the P. kofoidii fires a second shot. This one, a type of organelle called a nematocyst, is like a harpoon. With a stylet, the nematocyst pierces the prey, which then gets towed in.