Scientists have found two new species of odd-looking microbes dwelling in the guts of the common termite. They named them Cthulhu and Cthylla, in reference to the monsters invented by H.P. Lovecraft.
Lovecraft, a 20th century American sci-fi author, described Cthulhu as an aquatic creature with a scaly, rubbery body complete with wings, claws and an octopus-like head. As it turns out, the microbe Cthulhu macrofasciculumque, discovered by University of British Columbia researchers, looks quite similar.
"When we first saw them under the microscope they had this unique motion, it looked like an octopus swimming," researcher Erick James of the University of British Columbia said in a statement.
The other microbe, Cthylla microfasciculumque, is smaller than Cthulhu and is named after Cthylla, the secret daughter of Cthulhu. The Cthylla monster was actually a creation of British writer Brian Lumley, who contributed it to the Cthulhu legend in the 1970s.
Residing in the guts of each termite, the microbes, which are smaller than a tenth of a millimeter, help the termites digest the cellulose in wood.
While most larger protists living inside every termite have been identified by now, the small size of Cthulhu and Cthylla allowed them to pass unnoticed.
"The huge diversity of microbial organisms is a completely untapped resource," James said. "Studying protists can tell us about the evolution of organism. Some protists cause diseases, but others live in symbiotic relationships, like these flagellates in the intestines of termites."
The results of the study were published online on March 18 in the journal PLOS ONE.
