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Size of Life

(neal.fun)
2536 points eatonphil | 1 comments | 10 Dec 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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jphoward ◴[10 Dec 25 16:33 UTC] No.46219833[source]▶
It seems to be like some of the scales slightly off?

If you are looking at the ladybird (ladybug) with the amoeba to the left, the amoeba isn't an order of the magnitude smaller - it would actually be visible by the human eye (bigger than a grain of sand)? Indeed, the amoeba seems the same size as the ladybird's foot?

Similarly, this makes the bumblebee appear smaller than a human finger (the in the adjacent picture), which isn't the case?

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elicash ◴[10 Dec 25 16:59 UTC] No.46220196[source]▶
I came to the comments to express surprise that amoebas were so large. It appears they vary wildly in size (as small as 2.3 micrometers... but up to 20 cm, or nearly 8 inches).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoeba#Size_range

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1. selcuka ◴[11 Dec 25 03:49 UTC] No.46227418[source]▶
I got surprised by that too, and while comparing its size to the next organism (Tardigrade) I learned that every member of the same species of tardigrades has the exact same number of cells [1], which was even more surprising for me:

> Eutelic organisms have a fixed number of somatic cells when they reach maturity, the exact number being relatively constant for any one species. This phenomenon is also referred to as cell constancy. Development proceeds by cell division until maturity; further growth occurs via cell enlargement only.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutely