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Description
In the early Vathyzoic, certain groups of obscure invertebrates exploded in diversity. For the first three to five million years, loriciferans' ability to survive without oxygen gave them an edge over other animals in the stagnant seas. This one grew to the size of a sardine, straining debris from the oceans with a set of baleen-like spines. With no predators, they occupied the niche of fish for a few million years, although they were outcompeted by hagfish and amphipod descendants as the oceans re-oxygenated. After ten million years, these early Vathyzoic oddities went extinct.

In the present day, loricaferans are tiny, blind animals that live between grains of sand, and are the only animals that can live in anaerobic environments. Their cells have no mitochondria, with no use for them in the absence of oxygen. They are a phylum with no close relatives and only 27 known species, but they are unlikely to go extinct because of their ability to survive in extreme environments.

The Vathyzoic is a chronological project.

If you're new to the Vathyzoic, this is where to start: www.deviantart.com/salpfish1/a…

The next post in the series: www.deviantart.com/salpfish1/a…

Description
In the early Vathyzoic, certain groups of obscure invertebrates exploded in diversity. For the first three to five million years, loriciferans' ability to survive without oxygen gave them an edge over other animals in the stagnant seas. This one grew to the size of a sardine, straining debris from the oceans with a set of baleen-like spines. With no predators, they occupied the niche of fish for a few million years, although they were outcompeted by hagfish and amphipod descendants as the oceans re-oxygenated. After ten million years, these early Vathyzoic oddities went extinct.

In the present day, loricaferans are tiny, blind animals that live between grains of sand, and are the only animals that can live in anaerobic environments. Their cells have no mitochondria, with no use for them in the absence of oxygen. They are a phylum with no close relatives and only 27 known species, but they are unlikely to go extinct because of their ability to survive in extreme environments.

The Vathyzoic is a chronological project.

If you're new to the Vathyzoic, this is where to start: www.deviantart.com/salpfish1/a…

The next post in the series: www.deviantart.com/salpfish1/a…