Mother Nature has made some incredible creatures on our planet and I’m constantly in awe of all the amazing and miraculous forms of life out there. Take “leaf sheep,” for instance. These little sea slugs are not only adorable, they also can do something pretty cool. Because of their diet of an insane amount of algae, they’re actually able to photosynthesize all on their own!
- Their official name is Costasiella kuroshimae. However, “leaf sheep” is a way easier name to pronounce and much cuter, to boot. They’re one of the only creatures in the world that can photosynthesize, making them pretty impressive, especially considering their tiny size (up to 5mm, or about 2/10th of an inch).
- They’re only found in certain areas of the planet. You can find leaf sheep in their natural environment in Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. All the more reason to plan a vacation as soon as it’s safe to do so again.
- What it can do is pretty cool. If you’re not sure how photosynthesis works, you should know that only single-celled organisms can do it usually. However, the leaf sheep is able to suck the chloroplasts out of the algae they eat and convert it to energy in a process known as kleptoplasty. How cool is that?!
- You might never get to see one of these in real life, but they’re fun to look at. After all, part of the fun of the internet is being able to see things that you wouldn’t normally get to in your day to day life and appreciate the world around us when we can’t get to every corner to experience it in person. That being said, if you do ever get a chance to travel to where these little guys are, take the opportunity to see them.
