Recently, butts have been all the rage.
We always see Kardashian butts, Bey butts, J-Lo butts, Nicki Minaj butts everywhere. So, the more butts the better, right?
How ’bout some worm butts?
A friend just told me (let’s call him Gordon) about a sea worm with endless butts- the Ramisyllis multicaudata.
Apparently, in the 18th century, a sea sponge was dredged up by a ship, and in those tiny holes that all sponges have, there was a living creature. A worm with endless butts. Now, this worm is a rare find, and no one knows much about it. It’s a branch-worm. It grows by spreading its body out into trees.
Worm with many butts is an Aussie parasite
Primarily found in Australian waters, this little guy is definitely a parasite to the sea-sponge. However, the worm with many butts is otherwise huge mystery to scientists. What can be said is that it is largely independent from other branched species (meaning it didn’t evolve to grow limbs or—in this case— butts from another genus). It just evolved to spread its body out in to tiny webs that fill the cavities of sponges.
But why butts? What is known about the worm is that it has one head, but then each extremity can independently grow more branches until the entire host-sponge is filled to capacity! In fact, multitudo means many, similar to multitude, and you can see this classification in other species. One such species is the two-tailed swallowtail butterfly. Many ends. Many tails. Many butts.
The relationship between the host and the worm with many butts is unknown.
We are still not even sure if it the relationship is a symbiotic one, like that between sharks and pilot fish, or if the worm is slowly killing the sea sponge. It seems that, either way, the branched butts absorb nutrients to allow the worm to support itself. It makes sense, because how can one head feed that large a body?
I, for one, have never been more interested in butts. The potential this guy has is only beginning, and I think he has a lot to show us. I’m looking forward to hearing more about Ramisyllis multicaudata: the worm with many butts.
