I just got to see a different species of kleptoplastic sea slugs in the wild last month, on a kayak tour of the mangroves around Key West. Our guide scooped some lettuce sea slugs up in a plastic container (and then returned them safely). They were bigger, about 3 inches long, with a wavy/frilly green border. It made my biologist heart very happy!
Some things on Earth (especially in the ocean) you'd think were extraterrestrial... What a gift to still be able to find such amazing animals out there.
Makes you imagine a world with high solar power density and maybe lower gravity or something where larger land animals might be realistically supplemented by solar energy as well.
Now I think of a scifi setting, where rich people use massive ressources to feed their artificial gardens on Merkur with water from comets, so the genetically engineered solar powered green butterflies in their garden can keep flying.
(But there might be more expensive adjustments needed, like rotation speed)
So kind of funny that, chloroplast is being "stolen" again by this sea slug.
I really like this version of it personally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6JFTmQCFHg
[1] Pale blue dot - Carl Sagan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity
[2] Point of view is worth 80 IQ points - Alan Kay. He didn't specify the sign....
[1] Why people hate smart individuals: Studies reveal it's linked to your own intelligence level https://www.gq.com.au/health/wellness/studies-say-who-you-ha...
[2] On the importance of being pedantic https://medium.com/@lfloridi/on-the-importance-of-being-peda...
[3] Pedantic definition https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pedantic
[4] Pedantic opinion https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pedantic
(But there might be more expensive adjustments needed, like rotation speed)