There was something that happened recently in Oklahoma that really got people talking. It happened on the lake, as they discovered there was some type of sac-like eggs hanging from tree roots.
As you can imagine, it wouldn’t take much for this type of discovery to get the rumor mills going. Conspiracy theories were a dime a dozen and many people were even claiming that it could be alien in origin or perhaps something from an ancient and lost time.
Experts have now chimed in to talk about why these eggs are appearing and they are helping to calm the nerves of locals. As it turns out, these are creatures that belong here and they will be around a lot this summer.
It all started when the jelly-like egg sacs with a hard outside were spotted hanging from tree roots at the lake. At first, they thought that it might’ve been something extraterrestrial or perhaps a foreshadowing of bad news.
Scientists, however, say that it belongs to an ancient animal and is part of its reproductive system. This is something that has been around before the dinosaurs, but it doesn’t show up as often in this way.
According to scientists, these creatures are a simple form of life, bryozoans. They have been on the earth for hundreds of millions of years, long before dinosaurs were walking around. In fact, this may actually be good news rather than bad news for the lake.
Those experts say that bryozoans clone themselves to filter particles out of the water to eat for food. The large masses found on the roots are actually filtering the lake, helping to keep it clean.
In most cases, they will appear in ponds or lakes but when they appeared at the McGee Creek Reservoir near the Ouachita Mountain Range, it caused some concern from the locals.
As it turns out, this isn’t really an egg or a single animal. There are hundreds of creatures that have come together in pods that are known as zooids. Each of those pods is very tiny but together, they can be quite large as an organized unit.
Bryozoans don’t have a circulatory system and they don’t breathe the air. Their central nerve ganglion, however, does allow them to respond to external stimuli. They have both male and female reproductive organs, so they can essentially clone themselves and spread throughout the clump.
According to fossil records, these creatures have been around for as long as 470 million years. They also do a good job, because they are cleaning things up.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation: “What is that??? If you’re out boating somewhere like McGee Creek Reservoir you may notice these strange jelly-like balls hanging from submerged tree limbs.
“These are Bryozoans, and they’ll likely show up in large numbers this summer. Don’t be alarmed these microorganisms are native and are of no danger to you or wildlife. In fact, they are an indicator of good environmental quality and clear water!”