The naming of newly discovered organisms after famous people is not a new practice, but this particular species of branching worms is named after Japanese fictional monster Godzilla's archenemy, King Ghidorah.
Ramisyllis kingghidorahi was discovered in Sado Island, Japan. It lives in the internal canals of sea sponges. Like its three-headed, two-tailed namesake, R. kingghidorahi boasts a body that branches into multiple posterior ends. Interestingly, it only has one mouth. This finding baffles scientists with the following question: how can a single tiny mouth manage to fit a huge, branching body?
An international multidisciplinary team of scientists led by Göttingen University described the new species in an article published in Organisms Diversity & Evolution.
R. kingghidorahi peristalsis
#Ramisylliskingghidorahi #BranchingWorms #SpeciesDiscovery #Godzilla #newspecies
Image and video source: M T Aguado and G Ponz-Segrelles at Universität Göttingen