Placozoa are small, living, blobs of cells. They feed through their ‘skin’, can regenerate from only a small amount of cells, and reproduce asexually by splitting off parts of themselves. However, they have only rarely been observed in nature and scientists have yet to find any fossils of Placozoans.

Image of a Placozoa.

A new theory by our resident space biologist Allen Gringholm states that Placozoa are actually descendants of a massive blob of an alien which crashed into Earth millions of years ago.  The force of the impact broke it into pieces which shot into the atmosphere and spread all over the planet. Due to the resilient nature of this creature, the disparate parts of its body were able to survive as a new form of life. Dr. Gringholm has some concerns about the presence of the unassuming creatures on our planet.

“These small creatures might seem simple, but I’d argue that their attributes are extraordinarily dangerous if these Placozoa ever came together and attempted to reform into a being similar to their blob of an ancestor, which I believe was a massive and intelligent space traveling organism. Consider the fact that Placozoa are virtually indestructible, invisible from different angles, and can absorb food through their ‘skin’. Sounds like a fearsome opponent. People might dismiss The Blob as hokey sci-fi horror. However, the fiction might be closer to fact than we’d like to acknowledge.”

Dr. Gringholm says his research is ongoing.  Read more about Placozoa here.