molluscs – Alison Pearce Stevens https://apstevens.com Adventures in nature and science Thu, 15 Feb 2024 14:08:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/apstevens.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/cropped-site-icon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 molluscs – Alison Pearce Stevens https://apstevens.com 32 32 79253410 This sea slug lost its head! https://apstevens.com/this-sea-slug-lost-its-head/ Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:42:46 +0000 https://apstevens.com/?p=5954 You may have heard the phrase to lose your head, which means you’re not acting very sensibly. But this sea slug takes that saying to a whole new level. It quite literally separates its head from its body, then grows a new body, complete with a new heart. Scientists in Japan recently discovered this bizarre behavior, but they don’t yet know why the slugs do it. Check it out:

 

Did you know? The ‘tentacles’ on a sea slug’s head are used  to smell and taste the water around them. source

Want to know more? Find out more about the sea’s most beautiful creatures at National Geographic Kids.

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