A sea slug in the waters off Bali
© Media Drum World/Alam
Solar-powered sea slug. Adorably evolutionary sea sheep
Perhaps you can understand why this tiny sea slug is sometimes called the ‘sea sheep’ or ‘leaf sheep’? They graze on algae just as sheep graze a pasture, and they bear more than a little resemblance to actual sheep. Sea sheep don’t digest the chloroplasts in the algae they eat, they absorb the energy producing cells. The leaf-like fins all over the sea-sheep’s back are loaded with working chloroplasts, making the sea sheep one of the only non-plant lifeforms on Earth with the ability to photosynthesize—producing its own energy using sunlight and water. Who knew an evolutionary advancement could be so cute?
Related Images
A fin whale in the waters off the Azores
Night scenery with full noon, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, B.C.
Divers at El Pit Cenote, located in Dos Ojos Natural Park, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Dr. Sylvia Earle explores the Great Barrier Reef in a scene from 'Mission Blue'
Manatees in the Ichetucknee River in Florida
Boreal forest at Trans-Taiga Road region in Northern Quebec
Sperm whale mother and albino baby swimming off the coast of Portugal
Emperor penguins in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Bing Today Images
Whooper swans, Kotoku Pond, Japan
Dec 30, 2025
Rock formations in the White Desert, Egypt
Dec 30, 2022
Westerheversand Lighthouse in Westerhever, Germany
Dec 30, 2021
Winter in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Dec 30, 2020
The Thames Barrier at London, England
Dec 30, 2017
Château Hohenzollern près de Stuttgart en Allemagne
Dec 30, 2016
