''Cthulhu macrofasciculumque'' is a species of
excavates. It lives in the guts of
termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
s.
Habitat
It lives in the
hindgut
The hindgut (or epigaster) is the posterior ( caudal) part of the alimentary canal. In mammals, it includes the distal one third of the transverse colon and the splenic flexure, the descending colon, sigmoid colon and up to the ano-rectal juncti ...
of ''
Prorhinotermes simplex
''Prorhinotermes simplex'', the Cuban subterranean termite, is a species of lower termite in the genus ''Prorhinotermes''. It is found in Colombia. Like others in its genus, it is a single-site nesting termite that moves to a new food source when ...
'' (Cuban subterranean termite) and helps them to digest wood.
Appearance
The microbe's length is about a fifth of the width of a
human hair
Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals.
The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
, in the range of 10 to 20
µm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
, and it has around 20
flagella
A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates.
A microorganism may have f ...
. ''Cthylla'' is slightly smaller, with only five flagella.
Naming
The
octopus
An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
-like movements and appearance of ''Cthulhu macrofasciculumque'' (as well as another protist that assists in the digestion of wood by termites) reminded researcher Erick James of
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pan ...
,
H. P. Lovecraft's fictional cosmic entity. James named the other protist, ''
Cthylla microfasciculumque
This is a compendium of the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft.
__NOTOC__
Overview
In Joseph S. Pulver's novel ''Nightmare's Disciple'' several new Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are named. The novel mentions ' ...
'', after Cthulhu's "daughter"
Cthylla.
See also
*
Eastern subterranean termite
''Reticulitermes flavipes'', the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests. They ...
References
Metamonads
Cthulhu Mythos
{{Excavata-stub