You eat some photosynthesising algae. It’s tasty food. However, over time, you have found that allowing the algae to live for a little while inside you makes them even better, as they can continue photosynthesising and making sugars inside you.
In fact, you have already evolved to provide the chemicals the photosynthesising algae needs as food to extends its life inside you, and maximise your meal
This adaptation has now reached the point where you can contain multiple photosynthesising algae and they can live on inside you indefinitely.
You have entered a symbiotic relationship, and will come to rely on your guest, providing food and protection, for the price of a few sugars.
As you are soft and small, and now sweet, you are quite vulnerable to anything bigger and hungry that happens to be near you. An adaptation to create some kind of armour might be useful right about now, although it comes at a cost.
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