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Does Marvel's Venom Really Live On Earth...!

The Unusual Creatures Part 1

By Yogesh DhanasekaranPublished about a year ago 3 min read
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In the popular marvel movie Venom, Venom surprised us by being the most important character and a new creature we'd never seen before. In the movie, Venom is written as a character who clings to the hero's body like a parasite, controlling him and engaging in many fights with villains.

There are some parasitic organisms on earth that control other organisms like this. We are about to see the surprising information of such a creature.

Unusual creature - Leucochloridium

The parasite we are going to look at now is Leucochloridium, and it's a parasitic worm that infests snail eyestalks and pulses to imitate a caterpillar (this is referred to as aggressive mimicry in biology, where an organism impersonates another to attract prey or get eaten itself).

The worm then uses mind control to lead its prey out into the open place so that hungry birds can eat its eyeballs.

The worm reproduces inside the bird's digestive tract, releasing its eggs in the bird's feces. Another snail joyfully consumes these eggs to complete the worm's life cycle.

Scientific Discovery

Leucochloridium has been studied in the scientific community for more than a century, but it wasn't until 2013 that Polish scientist Tomasz Wesolowski of Wroclaw University showed the worm can in fact control its snail hosts.

Starting to grow in host body

Sporocyst (get image wikipedia)

The swallowed egg transforms inside the snail into a sporocyst, according to Wesolowski, "which appears like a mass of whitish tissue, seated largely in the snail's liver."

Then, it roughly continues to grow like a tumor. It doesn't have a mouth, so it merely hangs around soaking up the snail's valuable nutrients through its skin.

The energy required to support the worm is generally used to produce eggs and sperm.

So, after receiving the necessary nutrition, the sporocyst pumps out branches that enter the snail's eyestalks, also known as tentacles, and form a brood sac that is filled with larvae.

Ready to be transferred to the bird host (Get image wikipedia)

A simple eyespot located at the tip of the tentacle can only distinguish between light and dark. The eyestalk of the snail lacks the muscles needed to focus, and it is unable to sense color.

The snail does, however, possess muscles that allow it to retract its tentacles, which it may subsequently redeploy by pumping fluid into them.

Controls the host body like a venom

Get image wikipedia

When Leucochloridium infects a snail, it causes the tentacle to expand to the point that the snail is unable to retract it. As a result, the host is left with a giant, strobing eye of larvae that appears incredibly attractive to flying birds.

When it has sufficiently grown in the eyestalk, it starts controlling its host's actions and driving it out into the many dangers of the day, when predators swarm and the sun quickly desiccates.

So, in an unexpected manner, it seems like the Leucochloridium worms themselves are aware of the distinction between day and night. They don't have any photosensitive features, such as a nerve system or sense organs.

Nothing. They are still able to distinguish between situations in which it is worthwhile to pulse and those in which it is not. Thus, that is really unique. Nobody is aware of the method.

Running to die

broodsac inside the snail's tentacle (Get image wikipedia)

Snails that are affected are up to three times more active and can cover 3 feet in just 15 minutes. With your legs and all, that might not seem amazing to you, but to a snail, that is a race.

Additionally, the worms encouraged their host to remain on higher, elevated surfaces such as the tops of plants. Thus, the sum of all of these factors made them more visible to birds that are foraging.

Then the snail has its eyes eaten by birds. However, because birds rarely attack snails—only when their eyeballs like caterpillars—they will flee without consuming the remainder of the body.

Mercifully, or possibly horribly, the snail will not only live, but it will grow new tentacles and eyespots, as well as regain its capacity for reproduction.

Actually, that's rather advantageous for these parasites since the injured snail eventually develops into another potential host with the capacity to produce a large number of additional potential hosts.

To read my previous interesting article, click this ---> https://yogesh-article/untold secret

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ScienceNature
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About the Creator

Yogesh Dhanasekaran

I am always looking for something new and curious information. Similarly the content you get from me will give you new experience and information without wasting your precious time. My contents must help you improve your knowledge

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Comments (3)

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  • Vicky Vickyabout a year ago

    After long days i read a fresh concept of article

  • Kaushikabout a year ago

    I didn't expect this to be the content when I read the title....it's very interesting.

  • SIVAANESH . Jabout a year ago

    Nice article

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