https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/evolution-9
Alt text
The worst part is knowing that your great grandchildren will find the mutation sexy.
Bonus panel
this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2024
95 points (98.0% liked)
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
281 readers
100 users here now
Posts and discussion about the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Hugo Award-winning author Zach Weinersmith (and related works)
https://www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersmith
New comics posted whenever they get posted on the site, and old comics posted every day until we catch up in a decade or so
founded 1 month ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I did a little research. The ink sac is indeed attached near to the anus. It's thought to be an evolution of the hypobranchial gland still present in many mollusks, and the mucus-producing funnel gland that it works alongside may have originally been used to trap and excrete dirt particles when breathing through the gills - I guess very similarly to mammalian mucus in the respiratory system. It's used in conjunction with jet propulsion for distribution of the ink.
We're not sure what the use of the melanin that makes ink black was (it's kept it's current form in cephalopods for at least 300 million years) but it may have been a waste product from use in the body for camouflage or adjusting photosensitivity.
Thanks, this is a great comment!