Alien Biology

[Beersatron]

Animals without oxygen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8609246.stm

[The Shadow (OP)]

Animals without oxygen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8609246.stm

Wow, that's quite the news story.  What are they doing for respiration?  (Mainstream news never gives the juicy details!)  Perhaps they've got symbiotic bacteria doing it for them?  Because it would be hard to imagine an animal evolving all the necessary apparatus.

EDIT:  I'm also inclined to doubt whatever method they're using would work for anything much larger than 1mm - but who knows?  I could be wrong.

EDIT:  A little more web-searching, and I find that they didn't say how it respires because they don't yet know.  I will be keeping an ear to the ground on this, it is of major significance.

[The Shadow (OP)]

After a bit more web-searching:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 094450.htm

Mind-blowing.  They don't have mitochondria at all, but bacteria-like hydrogenosomes.  That is such a major change that I have to wonder if it's a survival from far in the past, rather than a recent development.

Note that the link also leads to two (free) scientific articles on the subject.  I'm reading 'em as I type.

EDIT:  They also apparently have symbiotic microbes, which may well be Archaea instead of bacteria.  That also would be strange and interesting.

I'm not yet clear on what they're respiring from the environment.  They produce hydrogen, but from what?  Their habitat is full of hydrogen sulfide, maybe that's it?