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Freaks of nature? un-natural selection?

I keep carnivorous plants (GASP! really?) and those include aquatic utrics. In the aquatic utric bottles, there are ostrocods (tiny crustaceans... pics later) and snails. I've kept the jars since like forever and the snails and ostrocods have been isolated since like forever too. now... I've noticed something... The snails AND ostrocods have changed!
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=365 -normal snail... see the tentacles? see how dark and big it is?
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=362 -my weirdo snails.
notice they're longer? their bodies are shorter (the actual animal itself) and the tenticles are also shorter. (not to mention the obvious color change) and the shell is very flexible (I didn't know that and tried to pick one up with my tweezers and squished it
smile_h_32.gif
)
now... that makes me think of one of two things...
either the snails are like that because they are in ZERO sunlight and need to absorb more UV rays to make vitamin D or whatever and since they don't have ANY predators it doesn't matter that they have more flexible/thinner shells... OR they don't have enough minerals to make their shells... which doesn't really explain at all why their BODIES are also whiter (does it?)
any guesses?
now the ostrocods-
I can't find a pic of what they USED to look like but they were greener with dark bands of green.
now here's what they look like-
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=366
now... why the heck are they white? some that died have shells the same strenght as they used to... (and they do have predators in the jar (copepods and utrics) could it be the UV issue too? and their shells aren't as fragile because they DO have predators?

ok, you've seen the (un)natural selection one...
look at my orchid- it's not going to grow anymore (it's been like that for weeks) and besides young ones don't look like that.
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=368
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=369
notice the little cuts on the petals? I didn't do them :p
now some random stuff:
my potatoes- http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=371
anyone know what the heck this is? doesn't look like a maggot... but it sure acts like one....
http://groups.msn.com/safesaf....oID=373
 
why not put the jars---

no, better yet!
put some of the curious specimens in the sun and give them food and light nd leave the others where they are - condct your own experiment and see if they revert back to the normal shape within a few generations.

Your potatos, yes iv seen them like that before sprouted in a bucket in a closet. theyr living off their food reserves in the root.

is that maggot thing above or below water
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]is that maggot thing above or below water
both, but the ones "above" water are in REALLY wet umm.... rotting peppers (LOL... don't ask but here's the story:
first I took some water and put highlighter dye in it. Then I put a coin in there and some peppers. (now it's all mushy but you can still see the skin of the peppers) half of the peppers are underwater and half are above it. There are maggot-things in both. above the water there are also brain-colored mites (well... the color of pig brains anyway :p... have you ever felt a pig brain? they're all squishy... EHEM... anyway...) )
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]put some of the curious specimens in the sun and give them food and light nd leave the others where they are - condct your own experiment and see if they revert back to the normal shape within a few generations.
I don't get any sun :-/
but I did put some shells inside the snail jar to see if by any chance they eat them or something and their shells harden. I'm also going to give them some food... I never feed them :p I guess they eat the algae that WOULD form in the jars
biggrin.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Your potatos, yes iv seen them like that before sprouted in a bucket in a closet. theyr living off their food reserves in the root.
these are actually living in my windowsill. here's their story-
my mom bought potatoes, left them in the cabinet, and forgot about them. Then we found them and they were all soft and nasty but they had buds growing on them (nothing green... they were just hot pink) and so I decided I'd experiment. I got a... container with some gravel on it and placed the potatoes there. Then I added some water and put the whole thing in a windowsill. Next time I knew the potatoes were all swollen up (as you can see they swelled so much they sort of ripped open), the container was full of roots, and the buds are now plants with leaves :p I'm gonna see how long they live... maybe if I can keep them alive long enough I'll plant one or two and see if I get any potatoes
biggrin.gif
 
well windowsill light is better than none... is your window facing north or shaded by something
 
Ok, so maybe it's just me, and I'm no expert on the matter, but the one in the last picture looks like a Nematode to me. Possible?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ] is your window facing north or shaded by something
it faces... south west but is shaded by a tree. I wish some sort of storm would make it lean a little tiny bit so I could get sun! :p
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]but the one in the last picture looks like a Nematode to me. Possible?
nope. It's no true worm I know of. I think it must me an arthropod because it has what I guess are trachia and trachioles and stuff (the silvery tubes used for breathing)
but it has nowhere as near many trachiae/etc as fruit flies. Fruit fly larva also don't have anything that even resembles eyes like this thing does, and they have hooks instead of mouths. oh yeah and they also have their spiracle things (like their nose) in their tail and they stick it out of the water... I don't see any of that in this thing.
it looks to me like an adult of those species of beetle that ... well... look like larvae. (I have a picture of a black one with orange spots if anyone wants to make me go through the trouble of looking for it :p)
 
what r u gonna do with the snails?
 
feed 'em... try to get more... if I do, I'll see what I do next.
 
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