In this world there are few places which has unimaginable creatures and mysteries, and the ocean is one among that.
Ocean is another beautiful gift of God. It is calm but sometimes becomes wild. We never know what creatures it as. Though few tried to go Indepth, they were only able to go to some extent. So, there might be creatures that are unimaginable.
Today I am going to tell you about one such creature that is Valonia Ventricosa. Valonia Ventricosa, also known as bubble algae, sea grape or sailor’s eyeballs is a species of algae found in oceans throughout the world in tropical and sub-tropical regions, within the phylum Chlorophyta. It is one of the largest known unicellular organisms,
Valonia Ventricosa has a coenocytic structure with multiple nuclei and chloroplasts.This organism possesses a large central vacuole which is multilobular in structure.
The entire cell contains several cytoplasmic domains with each domain having a nucleus and a few chloroplasts. Cytoplasmic domains are interconnected by cytoplasmic “bridges” that are supported by microtubules. The peripheral cytoplasm, is only about 40 nm thick.
Valonia Ventricosa typically grow individually, but in rare cases they can grow in groups.
They appear in tidal zones of tropical and subtropical areas, like the Caribbean, north through Florida, south to Brazil, and in the Indo-Pacific.Overall, they inhabit every ocean throughout the world, often living in coral rubble. The greatest observed depth for viability is approximately 80 metres.
The single-cell organism has forms ranging from spherical to ovoid, and the colour varies from grass green to dark green, although in water they may appear to be silver, teal, or even blackish. This is determined by the quantity of chloroplasts of the specimen. The surface of the cell shines like glass when clean due to being extremely smooth with no texture.
Valonia Ventricosa is among the largest known single-celled organisms. Its Thallus consists of a thin-walled, tough, multinucleate cell with a diameter that ranges typically from 1 to 4 centimetres although it may achieve a diameter of up to 5.1 centimetres in rarer cases. The “bubble” alga is attached by rhizoids to the substrate fibres.
Reproduction occurs by segregative cell division, where the multinucleate parent cell makes child cells, and individual rhizoids form new bubbles, which become separate from the parent cell.
Valonia Ventricosa is considered a pest by some aquarium owners as it can reproduce quickly and potentially endanger the health of fish or other organisms.