#flying buttocks

The flying buttocks is a species of bristle worm (Polychaeta) so called because, well, it looks like a bum. Floating around. It’s also known by the equally descriptive vernacular ‘pigbutt worm’ and you’ll know why if you’ve ever seen the rear end of one. Even the binomen Chaetopterus pugaporcinus can be roughly translated to ‘(chaetopterid worm) that looks like a pig’s rear’. I give up.

“The pigbutt worm“

Read about it here: http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2014/11/29/pigbutt-worm/

The pigbutt worm or flying buttocks (Chaetopterus pugaporcinus) is a newly discovered species of worm found by scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The worm is round in shape, approximately the size of a hazelnut, and bears a strong resemblance to a disembodied pair of buttocks. The worm has been recently observed residing just below the oxygen minimum zone between 900 and 1,200 metres (3,000 to 4,000 feet) deep — even when the sea floor is significantly deeper. The worms have also been observed floating with their mouths surrounded by a cloud of mucus. Current theories suggest that they reside in this area of the ocean because of its cornucopia of detritus and marine snow, and that the worms use these mucus clouds to capture particles of food and "snow." (Source).

flying buttocks