It hunts its prey in a frightening way... Discovering a terrifying "meat-eating" plant

The existence of a carnivorous plant may sound like something out of science fiction, but it does exist and tends to eat insects and small animals, and scientists have identified a new strange-looking species known as "Nepenthes pudica" that traps its prey in a way that is unique among these types of plants.

This newly identified plant is known as a pitfall plant for modified leaves that it spreads to catch prey, and features a deep swollen cavity containing digestive fluid at the bottom.

"We found a plant that differs markedly from all other known species," said botanist Martin Dancak of Palacky Olomouc University in the Czech Republic, who is the study's lead author, in a statement. So that the insects are pulled out and trapped, then the insects dissolve in the digestive juices at the bottom of the cavity."

He added, "N. pudica differs from other similar plants noted by botanists because its planted traps are located underground. This species places its jugs up to 11 cm long underground, where it forms in cavities or directly in the soil and hunts animals that live underground, usually What are ants, moths, and beetles."

The life strategy of Nepenthes pudica can be considered a useful evolutionary adaptation, and the researchers say in their paper published in the journal PhytoKeys, that this species was first discovered in 2012 on the island of Borneo in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, during a trip to the region, and as they continue to explore that region. And finding more, they eventually realized they had discovered a new type of plant.

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