The evolution of insect swarms from XNUMX million years ago

Chapter 39
  First, Lin Yi began a detailed analysis of the genetic sequence of the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp.

To Lin Yi's surprise, the four-meter swordfish-shaped Herd shrimp did not have a myelin structure. Instead, it adopted a solution similar to that of later cephalopods - directly thickening the nerves to improve conduction speed.

This may also be why the amazing speed and maneuverability of the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp require the assistance of the three-eyed Hed shrimp to be fully utilized.

Without the continuous field of vision provided by the three-eyed Hed shrimp, they would probably be like the tiger beetles of later generations. Because their speed is too fast, the speed of the brain receiving visual signals cannot keep up with their own speed, and they will become blind in a short time.

Previously, the sudden drop in hit rate of the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp that lost the guidance of the three-eyed Hed shrimp seemed to explain the problem. The fact that the eyestalks and compound eyes are retracted into the eye sockets to maintain a streamlined shape is only part of the reason, not the key point.

It’s funny to say that within the Anomalocaris nest group, due to the special synapse structure provided by the mother nest, the signal transmission speed between individuals is actually faster than the nerve signal transmission speed in large individuals.

However, on Lin Yi's side, the first gene fragment he integrated into the individual's genetic sequence was the myelin structure from the Sakaban soft-shell turtle, so he could safely increase the size of the individual.

There is not much to say about other parts. The most important thing is the muscles and organ structures in the body as a reference, allowing him to confirm the proportions and detailed positions of most body structures when designing a new template.

While I was thinking, the sky was already bright. The individuals of the Anomalocaris nest have not retreated into the abyss, but continue to swim nearby. The figure of the three-eyed Hed shrimp scanned the bottom near the sea surface, seeming to be looking for a suitable place.

The nearby swarms of soldiers spread out under the control of Lin Yi, looking for nearby large prey, hunting them and dragging them back to the trench, and handing them over to the Anomalocaris nest group for food.

After a while, it seemed that it had found a suitable place, and the Anomalocaris headed towards a water area under the leadership of the three-eyed Hed shrimp. The body of the swordfish-shaped Hurd shrimp follows closely behind. Bing Hao followed immediately to check the details.

In the field of vision, the huge body of the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp slowly descended to a coral reef. The leaf legs swept back at a small angle stopped swinging and showed no signs of life. It is a precursor to preparing to turn into a pupa and turn into a mother's nest.

Due to the successful establishment of contact with the Anomalocaris nest, all hostilities have been lifted, and the Anomalocaris nest will no longer attack his floating mother nest. Lin Yi was able to continue exploring the sea area on the other side of the trench.

The body of the filter mother is slowly advanced by the water jet propulsion system, and the head shell and three pairs of feeding appendages push the floating mother nest forward slowly. A large number of workers and soldiers followed closely behind and marched into the distance again.

Nowadays, the size of the nest group is no longer what it used to be. Multiple floating mother nests set off in multiple directions driven by the filtering mother flies, spreading the sphere of influence of the nest group.

This time, Lin Yi's goal is simple, to absorb more useful biological templates and further strengthen the new level of the nest.

The genetic sequence from the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp solved the problem of body size and structure, but it still requires a handy guy to achieve the purpose of piercing attack on the right spiral horn stone and the swordfish-shaped Hed shrimp.

It would be a good choice to directly enlarge the sickle limbs of the feather-winged horseshoe crab, but according to the memory of the previous life, there are still more powerful arthropod hunters than the feather-winged horseshoe crab living in the ocean of this era. Also, excluding the major nest groups, theoretically at the same time It is the only existence in the era that can compete with the large corner stones.
  On the other side, there is a group of right-angled stone nests.

One night passed, because the snails stopped moving at night, the soldiers, under the guidance of the spy workers, successfully approached the floating mother nest of the swarm. Under Lin Yi's control, a large group of soldiers swarmed up from all directions, with two pairs of paddling feet paddling, and their sickle limbs covered with thorns spread wide, and they attacked the few remaining adult snails.

In a hurry to respond to the battle, the straight horned stones were unable to launch a fatal piercing charge, so they could only wave their tentacles and wrap around the oncoming soldiers.

The blade-covered sickle limbs were intertwined with the tentacles covered with finely toothed horny protrusions. The blade-spurs carved deep scars on the fragile soft tissue, and the horny beaks that opened and closed responded in kind. Biting hard on the exoskeleton.

The azure horseshoe crab blood and the crimson blood flowed out mixedly, making the waves thick and turbid. The digestive juices were injected into the bodies of the horned stones with the stings of the tail needles, consuming their physical strength.

During this period of time, the floating mother nest has been using stored nutrients to produce more soldiers. Today, the number of soldiers still occupies an absolute advantage.

Under Lin Yi's control, they cooperated in an orderly manner. One blocked the tentacles and horny beak of the Strawhorn, while the others surrounded it from all directions, using blades and tail needles to surround and kill the huge Strawhorn. .

After the adult body died, the nearby larvae and young bodies could no longer make any big waves. Lin Yi controlled the soldiers and easily cut their soft tissues in half.

The huge floating mother nest and the snail eggs it carried appeared in front of Lin Yi without any resistance. He controlled the floating mother nest on his side to slowly approach under the push of the filter mother. The workers carried on the whisker-like structure broke away one after another and moved to the other side.

Lin Yi controlled the swarm of soldiers to swarm up, clamped the honeycomb-shaped main body of the mother nest of the right-angled stone nest group with the sickle limbs covered with thorns, and started preliminary cutting.

This is the first time he has dissected the structure of the mother's nest. The shell is surprisingly tough, and the overall structure is somewhat more like a plant than an animal. But it still has a wriggling flesh and blood structure.

The workers moved forward and used their chelicerae to cut the wounds made by the sickle limbs of the soldiers, and put the collected tissues into the holes on the surface of their own floating brood for absorption.

To Lin Yi's expectation, after a period of time, the brood still had not finished analyzing the genetic sequence of the enemy brood. Only the genetic sequence of one kind of cornerstone was analyzed - probably the kind of large filter-feeding cornerstone that resembles the restored version of the filter-feeding cornerstone in later generations.

It seems that the genetic sequence of the opponent's mother's nest is definitely not simple - also, the genetic sequence of the mother's nest, a strange life form with complex functions, cannot be easily deciphered.

Probably because the unknown things that induce "mutation" are the same, the mother nests of each nest group have converged and evolved similar shapes. However, according to Lin Yi's speculation, the other side's mother nest can be understood as an unrecognizable orthohelical stone individual that has developed abnormally. It was far different from the mutated feather-winged horseshoe crabs on his side.

Therefore, Lin Yi temporarily ignored the slow speed of decoding the genetic sequence, and controlled the workers to concentrate on absorbing the flesh and blood tissue of the enemy's brood for the further proliferation of his own floating brood.

(End of this chapter)