#Nostoc parmelioides

[humanbyweight]

TIL some bacteria can form structures that blur the lines between unicellular colonies and multicellular organisms, complete with the specialization of simple tissues. 🤯

[Photo ©shk5 on iNaturalist]

[msexcelfractal]

What the fuck…

First, it’s a cyanobacterium, so it photosynthesizes and produces oxygen. Second:

The midge larva Cricotopus nostocicola (Wirth) is only found inside the cyanobacterium, Nostoc parmelioides Kutzing from which it emerges as an adult (Brock, 1960). Nostoc colonies containing Cricotopus have been found attached to rocks in streams throughout western North America in addition to Connecticut, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Ohio (Boesel 1980, Ward 1985, Wirth 1957). Nostoc colonies which do not contain the midge are spherical with a diameter usually less than 5 mm. Nostoc colonies which contain Cricotopus larvae are ear shaped with a thickness of up to 5 mm, length to 10 mm and width to 20 mm.

[source]

TIL some bacteria can form structures that blur the lines between unicellular colonies and multicellular organisms, complete with the specialization of simple tissues. 🤯

[Photo ©shk5 on iNaturalist]