#kerona

MatchaMilk. (まっちゃみるく。)

"So if the nematocysts are so deadly, and the hydra tentacles are so full of them, how do ciliates like kerona pediculus survive in this chemical and physical minefield? We, we don't know. Kerona pediculus aren't immune to the toxins in the nematocysts, so they must somehow be sidestepping the issue altogether but we don't know how they do that."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Beautiful, Brutal Tentacles of Hydra

"Hydra must also have some way to distinguish between predator and prey because they're able to turn off their defensive nematocysts while capturing their next meal. Plus, if the hydra has caught something, some of the extract from their food will actually turn off the locomotive nematocysts to keep them from moving away during their successful, stationary hunt."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Beautiful, Brutal Tentacles of Hydra

h"Now, it's possible that the Hydra are simply allowing the Kerona to live on their bodies. You see, they're not exactly trigger-happy with their nematocysts. They do have some level of control here to make sure the nematocysts are deployed correctly. Some of those controls make hydra more effective hunters. For example, while nematocytes respond to physical stimulation, if there's a chemical hint of prey nearby, the amount of physical stimulus needed to activate the stenoteles and desmonemes goes down, getting hydra on the alert and ready to attach."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Beautiful, Brutal Tentacles of Hydra

Images Originally Captured by Jam's Germs

cc: "So clearly the hydra has ways to regulate its nematocytes, and maybe the kerona is taking advantage of one of those mechanisms. Maybe the hydra is too. We don't know, but for the kerona, I guess it doesn't matter. Instead of being targeted by the nematocysts, the ciliates are protected by them too as they scavenge food from the surface of their gracious host. So the kerona pediculus climbs and climbs, not knowing what a deadly horn it ascends."

Journey to the Microcosmos- The Beautiful, Brutal Tentacles of Hydra

Images Originally Captured by Jam's Germs