#xenophyophore

[bobcat-pie]

Aight, time for a Gaud Theory

@biggest-gaudiest-patronuses​ is a xenophyophore. Aka, one of the largest single-celled (though multi-nucleic) organisms. Here’s the proof:

From the Abyss- xenophyophores live in the deepest parts of the ocean. Gaud knows too much about the terrible things down there, and rightly fears them. xenophyophores are fragile, so if one were cursed with sentience, they would likely have anxiety as well.

Slimy- Gaud is slimy. Xenophyophores secrete slime when they feed.

Hard to define, but definitely not normal- Xenophyophores have a history of switching between classification as foraminifera or sponges. The classification of it’s clades is.. murky. I am no biologist, but a fallible creature. And Gaud cannot be defined. They are Gaud. 

Color- Xenophyophores are not pink. Normally. They construct their exoskeletons, or “tests,” out of sediments, and show a light color. Gaud is pink, which would normally disqualify this theory. But white, mixed with red, is pink. And I have a feeling Gaud hasn’t been just a detrivore for a long, long time.

[lord-dusk]

Xenophyophore mermaids are bizarre creatures PAR EXCELLENCE. What may appear as lumps of ill-defined flesh with biolumeniscent eyes are in fact, single-celled entities, clearly visible to the casual observer. Xenophyophore mermaids are, by design, simple. Usually reproducing by division, occasionally they may congregate together to form mobile families of a sort, constantly exchanging genetic material. Clearly being giant cells, xenophyophore mermaids are quite fragile and often construct a crude skeleton out of discarded debris for protection and more efficient mobility. This particular xenophyophore colony has inhabited a torn up Tesla-Chan robot with a added boat propeller. When interacting with xenophyophore mermaids, they're quite ambivalent. Not complex enough to show any higher emotions, these giant cells' general demeanor is to accept with indifference the limitations imposed upon them by more complex, multicellular organisms.

[ecosci]

What does this look like to you? A sponge or a coral? Some kind of seaweed? A rock??? (pic credit: NOAA)

Nope, this is a xenophyophore, a type of marine protist. (A protist is a eukaryotic microorganism). These animals live deep in the ocean, even in places like the Mariana Trench. They have been found past depths of 6 miles! They can be extremely abundant on the sea floor, as many as 2000 per 100 square meters.

Xenophyophores are single-celled organisms. The most shocking thing about them is their size. A certain xenophyophore (Syringammina fragilissima) can get as big as 20 centimeters across! That's right, a single animal cell almost as big as a dinner plate!

Very little is known about xenophyophores because they are almost impossible to study (they are very fragile, being single celled organisms in the deep sea). We know there are lots of different kinds with different shapes, sizes and structures. We know that they form tests, which are sort of like shells, out of basically spare scraps they pick up as they move. They eat bits of organic matter found in the water or in the substrate beneath them.

While they are single celled organisms, they are multinucleate, meaning they have multiple nuclei distributed evenly throughout the cell. A xenophyophore is organized into branching tubes. All this, within a single cell!

Here's a video and some of the (little) information I was able to find about such an obscure and unique type of animal.

http://palaeos.com/eukarya/rhizaria/xenophyophorea.html

http://www.decodedscience.com/xenophyophores-reach-new-depths-giant-amoebae-found-in-mariana-trench/6885

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Syringammina fragilissima

...is a large species of xenophyophore that was found off the coast of Scotland, near Rockall. S.fragilissima is one of the largest single-celled organism known to science with individuals growing up to 8 inches across. Like other xenophyophores S.fragilissima grows into a set of branched tubes, which secrete an 'organic cement' to collect particles that form a a hard test. As the test grows the cell will retreat and animals will colonize it.

Its currently unknown how S.fragilissima feeds or reproduces. It is also unusual in that its cell has multiple nuclei. 

Classification 

Rhizaria-Foraminifera-Xenophyophorea-Psamminida-Syringamminidae-Syringammina-S.fragilissima

Image: Andy Gooday

[resident-astrobiologist-blog]

Now an organism the size of a mango may not be all too impressive since whales and elephants are obviously far larger then a mango, but taken into account that these creatures are unicellular makes them incredibly amazing.

But wait, are whales not comprised of similar sized cells since they're so large? Well no, most animals and plants have similar sized cells, whales only have a greater number of those cells. And there is a goof reason for that too. The volume of a cell is what houses all the important components of a cell and these components require material from the exterior envirnment to keep the functioning correctly. But the only way for material to come into the cell is by going through a 2-D layer surrounding the cell. So if the cell doubles in dimensions, the outer layer only quaduples, but the volume of the cell multiples by a factor of 8.

And this is what makes the xenophyophore such an amazing organism. But the coolest thing is that these are just the largest known organisms of their type. We've only explored a tiny fraction of the ocean floor, so maybe there are even larger xenophyophore type organisms to be found.

[explorationimages]

Researchers Identify Mysterious Life Forms in the Extreme Deep Sea (by NGRemoteImaging) Xenophyophores FTW!

[sporesandstuff]

Okay, this right here is a xenophyophore.

They are. so. cool. What they do is create an outer shell out of things they find in their environment and filter through the sea floor for nutrients. Okay that's pretty boring. BUT! The cool thing is they can get to the size of a human fist. Okay that's boring, too. BUT! The coolest thing is that it's a single celled organism. This is a gigantic living fortress made out of one huuuuge amoeba. That is the least boring thing ever!