Photo credit: Zoodeparis
A bizarre yellow blob has made its first appearance at the Paris Zoological Park, and it’s unlike any other that you’ve seen before. This yellow unicellular may look like a fungus, but it acts like an animal. In addition to having nearly 720 sexes, it can move without legs, wings or any other visible sign of locomotion, and can even heal itself in two minutes when cut in half. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Why is it called the blob? This organism was named after the famous 1958 science-fiction horror B-movie, starring Steve McQueen, in which an alien life form devours everything in its path of a small Pennsylvania town. However, this brainless organism actually exists all over the world and can move, eat, and even solve problems, or so we think.
The blob is a living being which belongs to one of nature’s mysteries. It surprises us because it has no brain but is able to learn (…) and if you merge two blobs, the one that has learned will transmit its knowledge to the other. We know for sure it is not a plant but we don’t really if it’s an animal or a fungus,” said Bruno David, director of the Paris Museum of Natural History.