Not every person knows a father.
Not every person has a friend.
They say that as a species we pair bond,
But it isn’t always so.
Sometimes the heart is cold.
Sometimes the years pass, filled with nothing,
And the line finally leads to the edge and just ends.
There are examples of life without joy, without warmth.
This is a clinical mystery of biology rarely studied.
When animals are studied there are thirty phyla from which to choose.
There are thirty phyla organized under Kingdom Animalia.
These animals you will recall from life science:
Item: Annelida - segmented worms
Item: Arthropoda with chitin exoskeletons - spiders and crustaceans
Item: Chordata - mammals and lizards among them
These are familiar. These we recognize. These we understand.
But thirty phyla make up the Animal Kingdom - not all familiar.
Consider the specimen Loricifera - visible with the naked eye.
Environment: high-ammonia salt brine.
These animals require no light.
These animals need no oxygen.
These animals take no breath.
First collected in 1970 by Reinhardt Mobjerg Kristensen.
First identified in 1983 by Reinhardt Mobjerg Kristensen.
Consider the specimen Reinhardt Mobjerg Kristensen.
Born: 1948
Parents: deceased
Siblings: none
Graduated: University of Cogenhagen, 1972
Employed: University of Cogenhagen, 1972-
Status: single
Children: none
Interests: invertebrate zoology, invertebrate biology, arctic biology
Achievements: discovered three of thirty phyla comprising Kingdom Animalia
