Am I understanding that article right? Not only is the female a parasite on a different crustacean and loses all its libs and organs until it is just a sac with tendrils snaking through its host; but the male also attaches to the female and loses all its limbs and organs until it is just a set of gonads? That’s the weirdest fucking lifecycle I’ve ever heard of.
The females are parasites who inject themselves into a host and take over their bodies through a network of filaments, while the males are hyperparasites who inject themselves into a settled female and cease to exist as independent organisms through the degeneration of all tissues except the ones responsible for spermatogenesis.
gustofwind@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Even barnacles get worse
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizocephala
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Am I understanding that article right? Not only is the female a parasite on a different crustacean and loses all its libs and organs until it is just a sac with tendrils snaking through its host; but the male also attaches to the female and loses all its limbs and organs until it is just a set of gonads? That’s the weirdest fucking lifecycle I’ve ever heard of.
Photonic@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit
Friendlybirdseggs@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
The immobile crustacean is a parasite to the mobile crustacean!
prettybunnys@piefed.social 2 months ago
Metal AF
tacosanonymous@mander.xyz 2 months ago
Hey babe, new Last of Us dropped.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 2 months ago
Life never stops amazing me, even if some things come out of the mind of a author of b-horror movie scripts.