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esearchgate.net/figure/Morphological-comparison-of-the-carnivorous-leaf-fossils-from-Baltic-amber-Left-and_fig3_269076556
In 2014, scientists discovered plants preserved in tree resin and this is a rare case. It is very rare for scientists to find well-preserved plant remains in tree sap to study in detail, as most of the fossils found in buckets are usually of insects due to their relatively small size so plant resin can easily cover them and in same time. preserve it. Remains of plants larger than insects are much more difficult because this type of plant decays quickly and certainly will not survive in fossil rock. This very rare resin is believed to originate from the Eocene era, it is believed to be the first fossil evidence of the carnivorous plant family Roridulaceae which is now endemic to South Africa and through these fossils it is believed that the family spread during the Eocene era.
Fossil resin Roridula is the only case where carnivorous plants are well preserved, but this does not make it so Roridula as the ancestor of carnivorous plants, because the carnivorous behavior of plants actually evolved independently at least nine times, and most of the plants in this revolution are unrelated. Overall, it seems that something is driving some plant species to adopt this extreme lifestyle. It all comes down to their basic needs when some of the basic things that most plants need, like water and nutrients from sunlight, become hard to come by. Get some plants that can adapt in unexpected ways to make sure he gets it all and guarantee his fertility.
If you think carnivorous plants are unique and interesting, then you agree. Charles Darwin published a book about them in 1875, after spending about a decade trying to figure out exactly how they work, but it took scientists after Darwin about 100 years to understand it. set the criteria. a plant is a carnivorous plant and these criteria are still used today. There are two main criteria that a plant must meet if it wants to be considered the most carnivorous plant.
The first criterion is that it must be able to absorb nutrients from prey that is dead on its surface or trapped in it. Their prey are usually insects, but it is not uncommon for them to also attack vertebrate animals such as pitcher plants. They have been observed eating salamanders, snakes, frogs and even mice, but this is not the case. Enough that if a plant has defenses then it can only kill animals that try to eat it. It must also eat the animals it kills and profit from their growth or impact.
The second criterion is that the plant must have at least one of the three positive adaptations, namely attracting, capturing, or digesting prey. If you are a plant that has at least one of the three adaptive characteristics and absorbs nutrients as in the first criterion then congratulations, you are a carnivorous plant , but very natural productivity cannot be predicted, there will always be exceptions to these criteria. An example of natural randomness is in the fossil plant relatives we talked about at the beginning, Roridula it does trap arthropods with sticky secretions made from resin containing rubber, but the sticky secretions they produce cannot digest the trapped prey, otherwise the trapped prey will attract Tio. Tio is a stinky ladybug from the genus pameri. He walks casually sauntering towards the caught insect because he knows otherwise it will stick to the sticky secretions produced by the roridula. Tio then eats it arthropods Those caught then excrete feces on the leaves Roridula. Roridula He wasn’t angry, he was actually happy because that was his main goal to absorb nitrogen from Tio’s feces.
In short, Roridula uses mutualists who are willing to digest the feces of their prey, but still benefit from the death of their prey, which is why some botanists classify Roridula as herbivorous animals. Carnivorous plant lovers will immediately remember Sundew otherwise called sundew, both are similar and are often found growing in the same habitat. Their differences lie in the consistency and mechanism of the traps as well as the way they digest their prey. If agreed roridula is a resin containing rubber, so sundew is made from water and contains sugar like nectar which can attract insects. If an insect attaches itself to the active tentacles of a plant, it will immediately envelop it, then the glands on the tentacles will secrete digestive enzymes that will destroy and absorb the prey’s nutrients. In fact, there are many other plants that are known to meet the criteria for carnivores, totaling more than 540 species that we know of. carnivorous plants on all continents except Antarctica
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Most carnivorous plants have undergone convergent evolution. What is meant by convergent evolution? Convergent evolution is evolution that occurs when unrelated organisms have similar physical adaptations and functions in response to different environmental conditions. animals can be seen in hummingbirds and sunbirds, both of which suck nectar but are not closely related. Over millions of years, hundreds of species of carnivorous plants have developed five different types of traps, and most of them have evolved over different time periods. The two main characteristics of predatory plant traps are passive traps and active traps. Passive traps are when the prey is trapped and cannot escape away for a while, an active trap is when the plant actually moves to ensure its prey cannot escape.
Hole traps are a standard type of passive trap used by plants such as pitcher plants and bromeliads. If prey lands on the slippery surface of the plant’s mouth, it will slide into a pool of fluid containing digestive enzymes. Fly traps or sticky traps will react accordingly. The arrows are stuck in the sticky substance released by the leaves. These traps can be active or passive. For example, Sandi has sticky tentacles that can immediately move and react when they come into contact with their prey. Traps in debate positive.
This type of trap uses a leaf mechanism that closes quickly to catch prey. Lens sections or suction traps are only found in bladderwort plants. They create a small negative pressure vacuum inside the trap. When the fattest prey touches the trigger, the trap opens and immediately sucks in and automatically catches the prey inside. is an ictrops or eel trap. Passive traps force prey towards the digestive tract to ensure that the prey continues towards the mouth or pathway. This plant has a kind of spines or fine hairs that point inward, which will prevent prey from retreating or escaping the trap and what is even more interesting is that all these unrelated plants have not just evolved the same type. evolved similar molecular mechanisms to digest prey, for example three lineages of pitcher plants separated more than 100 million years ago, probably long before they became carnivorous plants and each type produced its own proteins that were initially used to protect the plants from unwanted guests. undesirable. like fungi, but over time all of these proteins have changed their function. become digestive enzymes. The function of these digestive enzymes basically remains the same but there are differences in where and how they are used.
2023-12-11 10:34:43
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