It looks like any other sea slug, aside from its bright green hue. But the Elysia chlorotica is far from ordinary: it is both a plant and an animal, according to biologists who have been studying the species for two decades.

Not only does E. chlorotica turn sunlight into energy — something only plants can do — it also appears to have swiped this ability from the algae it consumes.

Native to the salt marshes of New England and Canada, these sea slugs use contraband chlorophyll-producing genes and cell parts called chloroplasts from algae to carry out photosynthesis, says Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

That genetic material has since been passed down to the next generation, eliminating the need to consume algae for energy.

However, the baby slugs can’t carry out photosynthesis until they’ve stolen their own chloroplasts, which they aren’t yet able to produce on their own, from their first and only meal of algae.

"We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce told LiveScience. "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]."

Pierce and his colleagues used a radioactive tracer to ensure that the slugs are now producing the chlorophyll themselves and not gathering it from algal contamination in the aquaria.

Crustacean biologist Gary Martin of Occidental College in Los Angeles sums it up in one word: “Bizarre”.

“Steps in evolution can be more creative than I ever imagined,” said Martin.

I approve of naming your salamander Reynolds.

Also, that's just fucking awesome.

hes named after frank reynolds from its always sunny (danny devitos characters)

hes actually just a larvae right now. hes 9 inches of pure eating fury. i stick my hand in there to clean? WHAMMO, he thinks its a worm. i buy a crayfish to clean the rocks? hell no. LUNCH! snails with a shell? no problem.

he looks like this now:



hell look like this in a year:

He's going to be a fat ass.

I wonder if a slug ate my sperm, if it would evolve to start posting on message boards.

I caught an axolotyl once, in the southern tier. Scared the hell out of me, since I was only used to seeing spotted newts under the rocks. You can imagine my surprise when I flipped a rock looking for a 5" newt and saw that bad boy...

Very cool. I'm a bigger fan of the non-slimy kind now though; pythons, iguanas, and geckos are my reptiles of choice.

Axolotl are like living Pokemon. I thought those were the coolest little mofos when we learned about em in Earth Science in 9th grade. The Niagara Falls Aquarium even has a couple!

well, im amazed youve even heard of an axolotl, not many people have a clue what those cute buggers are, but those are only native to mexico. (and almost extinct, sadly) probably was a mudpuppy.

on a side note, ive looked for spotted newts my whole life, and only caught maybe 3. lucky!

You're probably right then, but I remember looking it up and thinking it was an axolotl (I also remember reading that they were native to Mexico and that I was probably wrong, but it was my story, as I knew no other alternative).

As far as spotted newts; I've probably caught a few hundred of them over the years. The really young ones are awesome bright-orange.