The Single Teon Cell

This single cell was the most abundant life form in Vesta's Manticore Ocean and Sea of Madrone around 3.5 billion years ago. This cell is too small to be seen with the naked eye. It remained and evolved only in watery or damp places. Like early blue-green bacteria, the Teon cell's main source of food was photosynthesis and nutrients from the sea. Later, ancestors of the Teon cell evolved into large kelp plants and some became plant-animals, like protozoa. Reproduction of Teon cells was by asexual means, that is, the simple splitting of cells. These cells moved along the ocean by drifting in water but were also able to propel themselves because they were endowed with tentacles ( the fuchsia colored lines in the drawing above). It took these cells 5 minutes to swim a 1 inch distance. These cells became the parent cells of some of the most unusual and beautiful water plants ever found in Vesta.

Botanical Name: Teonanemone
Size: .4 in
Habitat: splash zones in tidepools rocky shores
Reproduction: Asexual
Food: photosynthesis
Movement: tentacles and holdfasts
Facts:Current data about this ancient tide pool species indicates that it was formed around 3 billion years ago, just before the Rocaon species emerged off the rocky coast of the Manticore Ocean and the shores of Anoba. As is true of all tide pool biomes, plants that live in tide pools must be able to withstand and adapt to extreme fluctuations in conditions from the forceful waves that roll in twice a day, to the long hours of a hot beating sun. Also true of tideplool plants, this species has developed very aggressive holdfasts to allow the plant to remain attached to a spot on a nearby rock. These anemone-type plants wave their tentacles in synchronic motion with the water in search of sunlight. The red-brown color is caused by the pigment phycoerythrin. This special pigment helps the plant to photosynthesize dim to medium light, because this plant is mostly found in shadier locations.

Botanical Name: Teonpolypus
Size: 4-6 inches
Habitat: Coral reef-like zones of Manitore
Reproduction: Sexual
Food: photosynthesis
Movement: tentacles and holdfasts
Facts:This habitat is younger than the tidal splash zones of the tidepools. It is a shallower, warmer, less hostile region that supports a vast array of life. This species is anchored with holdfasts below the sand and waves its tentacles catching nutrients from the waters. The waving motion is also an attempt to seek sunlight for the production of chlorophyll, its main food source. At the end of each brownish stem is a white flower-like star, which is really a receptacle containing sexual organs. Male and female sex cells are produced and released into the sea to be fertilized. Once fertilized, the cells settle on a rock or sandy location and start a new plant.

Botanical Name: Teonspiralis
Size: 6-10 feet
Habitat: kelp forest-like zones
Reproduction:Sexual
Food: photosynthesis
Movement: Air Bladders and holdfasts
Facts: Data indicates that this plant dates back to 3.5 billion years. It is found in the the kelp-like forested sunlit off-shore waters of the Sea of Madrone. This species has become a hardy plant that floats and moves about with the force of the currents. It has long root-like structures that hold fast to boulders and other floating sea plants. This plant grows at an astonishing rate of 14 inches per day. This fast growth is compensation for the short life of this plant. Dying in just one season (about 4 months time on Earth), this plant becomes an important source of sea floor leaf litter. This is a sexual plant having male and female sex cells which mingle in the sea water, then settle to become new plants. The long finger-like leaves are an evolution of the tentacles from the Teonanemone species. It is believed that this plant became extinct due to these very small leaf structures, as plants with wider leaves prevailed in Vestaian oceans.

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