''Cthulhu macrofasciculumque'' is a species of excavates. It lives in the guts of

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

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 junct ...

of '' Prorhinotermes simplex'' (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, and it has around 20

flagella A flagellum (; : flagella) (Latin for 'whip' or 'scourge') is a hair-like appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores ( zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many pr ...

. ''Cthylla'' is slightly smaller, with only five flagella.

Naming

The

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) 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, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

-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 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 pantheon ...

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

's fictional cosmic entity. James named the other protist, '' Cthylla microfasciculumque'', after Cthulhu's "daughter" Cthylla.

References

Metamonads Cthulhu Mythos Protists described in 2012 Metamonad species {{Excavata-stub

Habitat

Appearance

Naming

See also

References