16 October 2013 - de-extinction 2
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Maybe I should aim higher. Of the countless ammonites that lived in
dinosaur time, surely a few must have specialized in eating jellyfish
and would love to come over and dine on the jellyfish we’re fattening
up with our agricultural runoff. I can repopulate the oceans with
beautiful exotic shellfish and ameliorate a serious environmental
problem at one stroke.
clue:
Unfortunately, ammonites were used to being eaten by marine reptiles that
hunted visually. An ammonite in open water wouldn’t stand a chance against
marine mammals with sonar. Three kinds of cephalopod survive that float
using a shell: nautilus, cuttlefish, and the deep-water spirula. All have
lifestyles that limit their exposure to air-breathing predators. To get
our beautiful floating shellfish back, we have to nuke the whales.
give me a clue so sweet and true
copyright 2013, 2024 Jay J.P. Scott
<jay@satirist.org>