my favorite unconventional animal
I'm so excited to join the April Bear Carnival! Sage is hosting this month with the prompt "your favorite unconventional animal". Check out their post if you want to join!
Mine would be Leucochloridium paradoxum aka the green-banded broodsac.
You might have seen this meme before:
L. paradoxum is a flatworm that parasitizes snails and birds. You can learn more about it here. But what I personally found fascinating is its ability to induce the host snail to mimic a caterpillar - a common prey of birds - in order to be eaten and be able to reproduce.
First off, parasites actually work hard in order to... parasitize their hosts.
Second, I know evolution is generally a random, hit-or-miss process but imagine how this mere "worm" evolved to its current life cycle. How mimicry, especially aggressive mimicry, came to be in the first place!
I mean I feel bad for Carl but I can't help but be amazed.
Some runner-ups I had for this challenge:
- Schistosoma japonicum also known as the most romantic parasites who pair for life <3
- Ancylostoma duodenale (old-world hookworm) who just looks like an adorable baby worm under an electron microscope.
I don't know what's with me and parasites today. I think I'm missing my 7 am Parasitology classes.