Meet King Ghidorah! New species of creepy branching worm discovered in Japan is named after Godzilla's three-headed nemesis
- Ramisyllis kingghidorahi was described by University of Göttingen-led experts
- It was found living within shallow-water sea sponges off of Japan's Sado Island
- R. kingghidorahi is only the third branching worm species ever to be discovered
A species of branching worm — only the third ever discovered — has been named after King Ghidorah, a three-headed, two-tailed kaiju from the Godzilla franchise.
Found on Japan's Sado Island, Ramisyllis kingghidorahi was described by an international team of researchers led from the University of Göttingen.
Branching worms are bizarre marine beasties that — unlike King Ghidorah — have just one head, but a body that branches over and over into multiple posteriors.
They can be found living inside the internal canals of certain sea sponges.
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The new worm was originally discovered by researchers in Japan, who approached biodiversity expert Maria Teresa Aguado of the University of Göttingen, Germany, and her colleagues to help study it.
'King Ghidorah is a branching fictitious animal that can regenerate its lost ends, so we thought this was an appropriate name for the new species of branching worm,' Professor Aguado said.
There are now three known species of branching worm. Both R. kingghidorahi and 'R. multicaudata', which was identified in 2012 off the north Australian coast, live in stony sponges that can be found in shallow waters.
In contrast, 'Syllis ramosa' — which was found in the Philippines back in 1879 — lives within deep-sea glass sponges.
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For a long time, Professor Aguado noted, 'the first worm was thought to be unique.'
'We were astonished to find another of these bizarre creatures with only one head and a body formed from multiple branching.'
'This discovery reveals a higher diversity of these tree-like animals than anyone expected,' the biologist added.
Molecular comparisons of the three worms reveal that the two shallow-water species share a common ancestor — one the team believe originated the asymmetrical, branching body pattern and was probably already adapted to live in corals.
At the same time, however, they also exhibit a high degree of genetic divergence and have significant difference in the shapes of certain body segments.
The team added that the ability to grow new rear segments throughout their lives — a feat typical of many worms — along with the ability to regenerate and produce new segments during reproduction may have facilitate the evolution of branching.
Despite having been known for more than a hundred years, branching worms still harbour many mysteries yet to be unravelled.
'Scientists don’t yet understand the nature of the relationship between the branching worm and its host sponge,' explained Professor Aguado.
'Is it a symbiotic relationship where both creatures somehow benefit?' she asked.
'And how do the worms manage to feed to maintain their huge bodies having just one tiny mouth in their single head?'
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Organisms Diversity & Evolution.
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