Scientists first saw an insectivorous plant eating vertebrates

Sarratsenia purpurea grows in sphagnum swamps of eastern and central North America.

This type of carnivorous plant has trap jars and is widely cultivated as a houseplant.

Until now, it was known that the plant eats only insects - it attracted the victims with sweet juice, which stands out from the leaves, and when they climbed inside the jug, they slammed it.

However, for the first time, researchers saw how sarracenia purpurea ate the larvae of yellow-spotted Ambist. Those fall into the trap of the plant, and this happens quite often.

According to the calculations of researchers, vertebrates are found in traps 18-19% of all plants growing in swamps.

Previously biologists from Smithsonian Universitytropical research found in the Caribbean, perhaps previously unknown to science phoronid larvae - horseshoe-shaped worms, which are one of the least studied species. How their adults will look is unknown.