I was young once [Sarah Andersen]
I was young once [Sarah Andersen]
If you look at my profile picture, you'll see this comic is actually about me...
I was young once, now I just Mod [email protected]
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Now I'm wondering about any animals that get born fully sized, and don't have a childhood
Single celled creatures pretty much do this. The next closest would be any creature that gives birth to what is effectively a miniature adult which is then immediately abandoned by the parent(s). Even then, I'm not sure of any that are sexually mature at birth, suggesting further development is actually needed to get full adulthood, meaning there's a childhood of sorts, even if it's not necessarily a well-protected one.
Trichogramma wasps emerge from “their” egg already fully self-fertilized and ready to lay more eggs, but idk if that really counts since the first portion of their life cycle is consuming another insect’s egg as a parasite.. (I know a ton about them because I released them in my house for years to combat pantry moths when I had birds - they do an absolutely spectacular job.)
It’s a species without males, due to a bacterial infection that suppresses males almost entirely. If treated with antibiotics they start to produce males again. Essentially, the lack of males means they have to be fully fertile immediately. But idk if that makes it sexually mature or not. I think that’s definitely an edge case either way, but it’s the closest I can think of.
I know my next wikipedia adventure!