WEBVTT - Listener Q's: Ear Mite Poetry 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:10.920 Welcome to Creature Feature production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:16.600 of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:21.520 and today on the show, it's a listener Questions episode. 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:27.160 Happy New Year, guys. It is twenty twenty five. Staying 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:32.520 alive in twenty twenty five. I'm gonna answer some questions 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:34.680 I have. I've got a bit of a backlog, so 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.760 I'm gonna keep doing some of these. I think next 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:41.280 week will probably be a normal episode, but I might 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:45.120 have yet another listener Questions episode to do in the future. 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.920 Do keep sending them to me, though, I will keep 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.640 answering them. If you have your very own questions you 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.680 would like me to answer, either through email or on 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.840 the show, you can write to me at Creature Feature 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:03.320 Pod at gmail dot com. So let's get right into it. 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.720 I had some really really interesting questions this time, so 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:11.240 I'm super excited. Hi, Katie. I came across this Reddit 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.120 thread on dinosaur ants. I find this fascinating and have 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.960 the mental imagery of an ant in their finery being 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:20.800 stripped down, thrown in a sackcloth smock, then tossed in 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.040 the dungeon. I thought you might enjoy it too. Hope 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.480 you're all in good health. Give Cookie a treat for 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:30.360 me or regards Ronnie. So thank you so much for 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:33.600 sharing this with me. The reddit post says, today I 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:37.919 learned a high ranking dinosaur ant who challenges her queen 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:43.279 but fails will be immobilized, publicly chastised for several days, 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:46.840 join the working class, and lose all hope of ever 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:51.320 ruling or reproducing. So this is really interesting. I believe 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:55.200 that this probably comes from the study with the catchy 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:59.040 title functional Morphology of the dufour gland and the queenless 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:04.400 Ant Dinopone Nara quadriceps. Dinosaur Ants are a queenless species, 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:09.160 meaning that they technically don't have a specific morphological queen 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.160 that is born to be queen. However, there is a 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.640 dominant alpha female who essentially acts as the queen of 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:21.560 the small colony. She's the only one officially permitted to reproduce. 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.600 The ants immediately ranked under her will sometimes be able 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:30.800 to become the dominant female and reproduce themselves. It's actually 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:34.440 quite similar to the social structure of say a meerkat colony, 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:38.520 where you have sort of this quasi usocial situation so 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.800 the worker ants can reproduce and are really only kept 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:47.399 in line by the alpha females enforcers. Worker ants who 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.760 can reproduce are called gammer gates, not to be confused 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:55.359 with gamergate, the stupidest controversy to ever happen. So yeah, 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:59.359 these are gammer gates. The dinosaur ant colonies are pretty 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:04.119 small to other ant species, having tens instead of hundreds 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:08.480 of individuals, so some of these individuals will try to 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:13.280 reor surp the dominant female. Sometimes this is successful, like 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.840 the female's ranks just below the alpha might stage a 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:20.680 successful coup or take over her duties when she gets older. 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:24.519 But occasionally the female's rank just below the alpha will 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.400 try to lay an unfertilized egg that will hatch and 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:32.359 become a male, and typically enforce her aunts will try 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.760 to find these eggs and remove them before they hatch. 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:41.240 If the alpha detects this behavior or encounters a challenger directly, 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.960 she will mark the cheater with a pheromone sort of 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:49.960 like an APB on this female who is trying to 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:55.880 lay eggs, which triggers the female enforcers to immobilize the culprit. 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:58.720 So it's interesting because she's kind of acting like a 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.480 mob boss. The alpha does not need to directly engage 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:06.040 in violence, but has her mobster like enforcers do the 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.760 dirty work for her. So she's got a bunch of 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:13.960 goons who goes and they will yeah, as the posts 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:21.320 suggests that they'll physically restrain the female and discourage this behavior. 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.000 So it is really interesting to see these dinosaur ants 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:29.839 kind of behaving like an organized crime family. It's very fun. 0:04:30.360 --> 0:04:34.200 I would definitely watch a version of A Bugs Life 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:40.120 where we see mob ants. I please make that happen. 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:45.320 Next listener question, Hey Katie, I am training to become 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:50.040 a groomer of dogs and right now I'm studying hard 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.840 for my written exam. Well not right now, because I'm 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:57.200 writing this email. And the chapter about parasites on dogs, 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.520 there was a casual mention of a veterinarian who infected 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.479 himself with Odecti's cinotus, or spider like ear mites. I 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.840 tried to find his original journal on the subject, but 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.200 unfortunately I don't have access to it. I think his 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:12.120 name is R. A. Lopez and the title of the 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:18.440 article is hilariously of mites and men. I thought the 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:22.479 story might interest you. The host of many parasites. This 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.080 is true. I would love to learn more about mites 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:26.880 if you're ever interested to do an episode on them. 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:30.400 I'm also hearing about dog's coats going through visible changes 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.960 after neutering. I have seen cases of it in real 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:34.880 life too. I know that it has something to do 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.760 with hormonal changes, but I don't understand what the exact 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.640 cause is. Is there any chance you could explain it 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:43.560 a little. Thanks. I love your show and I recommend 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.159 it to others all the time. Oh well, thank you, 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:49.680 and this is from Meryl also shared a silly photo 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.479 of their dog Candy for my enjoyment, and I did 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:55.839 enjoy it, so thank you. Thank you so much for 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:58.440 sharing this with me. Of Mites and Men was an 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.360 article written for the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:06.640 Association in nineteen ninety three by Ari Lopez and documents 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:10.719 his incredible dedication to first hand research on spider like 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:15.080 ear mites. So he was a veterinarian who intentionally infected 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.279 himself with ear mites from a cat to see if 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:22.040 they would take to a human ear He was inspired 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:23.960 to do this when one of his clients brought in 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:27.920 their ear mite infected cats that had very severe MTE infection, 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:32.280 and the daughter of this family complained of feeling itchy, 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:37.720 which went away after the cats were treated. So these 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:41.320 are direct quotes from Ari Lopez about what he did 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.800 to himself. So quote, I decided to be a human 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:50.279 guinea pig. Immediately I heard scratching sounds, then moving sounds 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.640 as the mites began to explore my ear canal. Itching 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:58.880 sensations then started, and all three sensations merged into a 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:02.919 weird cacophony of sound and pain that intensified from that 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.760 moment on and on. At first, I thought this wouldn't 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:10.640 and couldn't last very long. However, as the day and 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:14.360 evening wore on, I began to worry the paritis, which 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:19.600 means itching, was increasing. The sounds in my ear, fortunately 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.280 I had chosen only one ear were becoming louder as 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:27.400 the mites traveled deeper towards my ear trump So that's 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:35.880 quite a colorful description. He apparently repeated the experiment three times, 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:41.880 and for his forays into the field of very masochistic entomology, 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:46.320 he received an Ignoble Prize, which is sort of a 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:51.200 joke award for not necessarily bad studies, but very weird studies. 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:57.320 And so he apparently read a poem about ear mites 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:02.040 at the ceremony and then passed around dead bug samples 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:06.440 to the audience. I was not able to find the 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.440 poem about ear mites. If anyone knows where I can 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:11.880 get a copy of that, please do send it to me. 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:16.520 Would love that. His of mites and man paper has 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:20.880 been cited numerous times in the entomology literature, so he 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:26.960 is a true hero of entomology. He has since passed away, 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:31.360 so otherwise I would definitely have him on the show, 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:36.720 because man, what a fantastic idea. Just put some cat 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:39.640 ear mites in your ear because you're brave and you're 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:44.680 doing it for veterinary science. Incredible. All right, onto your 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:49.960 next question about why dog coats might change after neutering. 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:53.880 So dog coats going through changes due to hormone levels 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:58.520 post neutering. Hormones also have a huge effect on hair 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.720 and humans. Actually, so testosterone can both help grow body 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:07.360 hair but also cause you to lose hair on your head. Likewise, 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:11.080 androgen and estrogen levels can affect hair growth or cause 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:15.080 disorders such as hair loss or alopecious. So it's really 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.640 interesting because you can't necessarily say, like a hormone causes 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:22.560 hair loss or causes hair growth. It's the levels of 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:28.480 these hormones and the amount the hormonal cycles that can 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:31.800 cause both hair gain and hair loss. And of course 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:36.679 it also depends on the type of hormone determines where 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.200 on the body you'll also get hair growth. So for dogs, 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:44.200 what does the evidence tell us regarding neutering. It's a 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:48.000 bit unclear actually, so that doesn't mean it's not a 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.840 real phenomenon, but just that there's a lack of strong research. 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:59.480 So coat changes, Okay, I did read this, which is 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.200 coat changes in Castrated Bitches, a review of the literature, 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:06.000 which is what it's actually called, because a bitch is 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:10.360 a female dog. This is an actual term. I'm not 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:17.200 being naughty here, So this is this review of literature 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:23.720 failed to find strong evidence of coat changes following spaying 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.880 due to a lack of research. However, there is a 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:31.200 great deal of anecdotal accounts about coat changes following spaying 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.120 or neutering, so vets that were surveyed in the UK 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:38.600 do report coat changes to be a potential negative consequence 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:42.559 to neutering. I still think neutering and spaying is worth it, 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:49.199 because controlling the dog population is way more humane than 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:55.439 trying to preserve coate integrity. I would say that I 0:10:55.640 --> 0:11:00.839 can't really find great research documenting this change, though. My 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.599 guess is the reason it's really hard to find a 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:07.360 pattern in dogs in terms of coat changes following neutering 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.760 or spang is that breed and genetics means that the 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:15.959 dog's response to neutering or spain is highly heterogeneous. Uh so, 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.880 meaning that there are probably plenty of dogs who do 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:24.480 not encounter cooat changes and plenty who do, depending on 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:28.520 their breed, depending on their specific genetic makeup, maybe even 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.120 depending on when the spang or neutering is done, what 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:34.839 point in their life it's done. So, and the type 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.160 of coat change may be different, so it's really hard 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:40.080 to document a clear pattern. Like some dogs may experience 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:44.040 some coat thinning, some might experience like a change in 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.400 the code of change in the texture of their fur. Yeah, 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.199 so like being able to document a clear pattern is 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:55.160 probably quite difficult. But given the role that hormones play 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:58.560 in hair growth in humans and other mammals, I think 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:02.120 it is reasonable to assume that neutering or spain may 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.920 have an effect on coat depending on the individual, and 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:09.000 that it's likely due to the change in hormone production. 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:13.920 Just as some individual humans may go bald, or have alopecia, 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:17.400 or have thicker or thinner hair, or go gray earlier 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:21.559 or later, which can all be affected by hormones, So 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:25.880 hormones can have an effect on hair follicle size, and 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:30.320 hair follicles can become smaller due to say, if there's 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:36.760 like a high level of androgens or in men, or 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.920 lower levels of estrogen and higher androgens in women, and 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:45.199 those smaller hair follicles can then cause eventual thinning and 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:50.680 then total loss of hair and some individuals. So yeah, 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.080 it's I think it's definitely possible. Like if you notice 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:58.080 a pattern of dogs coats changing after neutering, I think 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:01.160 that that there really might be something there. But it's 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:05.679 also kind of difficult because it could just be a 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:08.720 change that would happen as the dog matures anyways, which 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:11.960 you know, like it's sort of a timing thing, right, 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:13.880 like you notter the dog and then later you notice 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:17.400 this hair change. Maybe that was inevitable, but yeah, that's 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.640 one of the difficulties of being able to prove that causality. 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:23.760 But maybe there will be more studies in the future. 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.240 I'll keep my eyes open for them. But yeah, I 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.640 mean and certainly, like there's a lot of things you 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:32.679 can do for your dog's coat if you want, if 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:35.800 you're concerned about it. There's a lot of like nice 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:40.559 sort of treats and things like fish skin and oils 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.760 that you can give your dog that can improve coat quality, 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.520 help reduce shedding, things like that. But again, it's going 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:51.800 to be highly individualized, like some dogs respond differently. It's 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.839 just you know, we have such a huge variety of 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.760 types of dog coats that it's really hard to predict 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.040 what's going to go on with your dog's coat. But yeah, 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:04.520 you could always always look up resources for your specific breeder. 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.120 If you've got a mutt like I do, just try 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.080 in different treats, trying different diets and stuff and seeing 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:12.600 what they like best and what makes them the softest 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:18.480 and the happy. Hi Katie. Not a huge question. But 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:22.040 on today's episode, you played the sound of a frigatebird 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.360 and it sounded like one of those giant corrugated plastic 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:27.200 tubes that they had in the eighties that you'd spin 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.960 and they'd whistle. Worly tubes. I didn't know that's what 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:32.360 they were called, but I remember them. But if you 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.120 bent them, they had that hollow popping sound. Man, I 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.720 loved those so much. I'm someone who likes to crack 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:40.880 my knuckles, so like those little tubes, like bending and 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:44.640 around cracking. Ugh, so good, now I want one. Anyways, Once, 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.800 while paddleboarding on the Washington Coast, I saw a bunch 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.000 of cormorants on a big booie. I could hear a 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.320 very similar noise to the frigatebird, but only saw cormorants. 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.240 Do cormorants always make also make that noise? It's very cool? 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:03.440 Love the sh Anna, Thank you so much for this email. Anna, 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:06.400 first of all, reminding me of that thing from the 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:08.680 eighties and nineties, I used to play with those two. 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:13.240 And also I love cormorants. They are one of my 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:18.720 favorite birds to see all bird watching. Their names are 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.240 really cool because they come from a Latin portmanteau for 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:25.400 sea raven, which is just the coolest thing. They look 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:29.360 really cool, they sound really cool. As you've observed, they 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.680 do that wonderful behavior where they hold their wings out 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.360 so to me, they look like goth ducks kind of 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:40.360 combined with penguins, with long necks and those nice, long, 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:44.680 slightly hooked beaks. They're usually sort of a either a 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:48.960 dark brown or black. Sometimes they have like a white belly. 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:54.200 They look really prehistoric to me, especially the great cormorant, 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:57.120 which I highly encourage you to google a picture of. 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.200 They're absolutely gorgeous. They look like these mohas wearing dinosaurs. 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:05.920 I really love them. And they do that lovely basking behavior. 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.800 They spread out their wings and the sun. Most likely 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.640 it's to help them dry their feathers after diving, and 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.920 it's really beautiful. It's one of those things like often 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.680 when I'm bird watching aquatic birds, they may be quite 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:21.840 far away and it's kind of hard to identify them, 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.200 But when I see a bunch of sort of prehistoric 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.800 birds out there with their wings unfurled, just kind of 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:31.200 basking in the sun, then I know it's probably a cormorant, 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:35.880 all right. So on to the sound. So, given that 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:38.720 you're on the Washington coast, you probably ran into a 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:43.840 branch cormorant who developed these beautiful blue goler pouches. That's 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:48.640 the pouch right below their beaks during mating season only, 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:50.920 so if it's not their mating season, they won't have 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:53.760 these pouches. But during their mating season they do have 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:58.120 those blue pouches, and they do indeed sound a bit 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.920 like one of those corrugated plass stick tubes. So here 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:10.720 is what they sound like. So yeah, a plus plus identification. Anna, 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.760 I think you're you're spot on. Those are cormorants. You 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:18.679 heard their calls. Uh. I. I don't know necessarily if 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.160 they're brands cormorants. I would need a little more information, 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.239 but very likely there's there might be a few other 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.960 species on the Washington coast. But yeah, that fantastic find. 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:31.159 If there are any other bird watchers out there and 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.760 you are curious about what you have seen or heard, 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.760 maybe I can help. Just send me an email at 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.560 Creature feature Pod at gmail dot com and I'll try 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:44.000 to help you identify your birds, solve you solve your 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:48.800 bird mysteries if you have them. Onto The next listener 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:54.560 question starts with this, dendarro gastridians. Have you seen this? 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.560 This doesn't seem real. I have heard of the parasitic 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.320 bartacles that take over crabs, but have you've heard of 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.320 crabs that are parasites of starfish and look like corals. 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.280 This blew my mind best Asher, and they linked to 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:16.880 a YouTube video about the dendro Gestrata parasites. So thank 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:19.240 you so much for this question. It is a really 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:23.240 fascinating topic. I love parasites, as you all probably know 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:27.840 quite well at this point. So dendro Gstrata is indeed real, 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:32.560 so let's talk about it. It is an order of crustaceans, 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:36.320 so it is in the same subphylum as crabs, but 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:44.840 also lobsters, shrimps, woodlouses, so those are actually terrestrial isopods, copapods, 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:50.600 and barnacles. That's right, So barnacles are also crustaceans, and 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:55.000 Asher refers to the barnacle that is a parasite to crabs. 0:18:55.320 --> 0:19:00.840 This is sacculina. These are barnacles that parasitize crab altalia 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:04.880 and cause males to start showing female behavior. So yeah, 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:08.959 the bartacles are also crustaceans. They're very very distant cousins 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:13.680 to the crabs that they target. Being cousins in the 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.600 animal kingdom does not always get you special treatment. So 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:22.520 dendro Gastrita are an order of animals remember it goes 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:27.600 kingdom phylum class order, family, genus species. You can remember 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:32.400 this as King phil came over for good soup. That's 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.359 it's kind of a bad pneumonic but that's what I learned. 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:39.879 I don't know why dendro Gaster is a genus of 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:44.359 this order of parasitic crustaceans that have a branch like 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:48.760 symmetrical structure and use c stars as hosts, so they 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:52.760 take over the main body cavity of the sea star. 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:56.680 If you dissected an infected c star, you might just 0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:00.240 assume that the structure was a weird organ or vein 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:04.000 structure because it looks it does not look really like 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:08.639 an animal. It looks like maybe a starfish's veins or something. 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:13.760 But it's actually another animal taking advantage of the seastar 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.639 as a home and feeding off of its nutrient supply. 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:23.119 So yes, it's a very real animal. It's understudied, but 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:26.720 it is really interesting. I would not say that dendro 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:30.800 gasters are crabs, given that they are just as related 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:34.080 to barnacles and copapods. Actually, when you look at some 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:37.920 of the weirder copapod anatomy, who you know, these like 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:41.000 a lot of copapods are also parasites. It makes a 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:47.280 lot more sense that dendro gasters are also crustaceans. But yeah, still, 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:51.440 dendro gasters are super, super weird. They do not look 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:53.800 like animals. They look like some kind of weird organ 0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:57.280 and it's creepy to me how little we actually know 0:20:57.359 --> 0:21:02.080 about them. It's just really hard to study aquatic parasites, 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:06.240 especially those who are hiding inside of starfish like little 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:10.920 prizes inside living pinatas. Isn't that Isn't that fun? Good 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:15.720 image there? Anyways, Guys, I really appreciate all these questions. 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:20.080 They're fantastic. They force me to do research and look 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:22.320 into things that even I might not know all that 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:25.960 much about. So I really appreciate that helps me learn. 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:29.760 I hope I've helped you learn. So yeah, send any 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:33.360 question about evolutionary biology and animals to me at Creature 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:38.040 Featurepod at gmail dot com. And I believe next week 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:40.720 will be a regular episode. If not, it'll just be 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:44.000 another listener questions episode while I do a little bit 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:47.680 of twenty twenty five catch up here. But yeah, welcome 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:51.760 to the new year, everyone, New year, New Critters, got 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:55.720 to keep going on exploring the Natural World with you 0:21:55.880 --> 0:21:59.720 guys getting infected with ear mites. Maybe don't do that. 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:04.280 As cool as that guy was, I cannot end good 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:09.200 conscience tell you to pour cat ear mites down your ear. 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:14.240 It's not a great idea. We've already got that contribution 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.120 to science. So pour something else down your ear, don't. 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:20.960 I'm please. Your ears are so delicate and sensitive. Don't 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.199 put anything in there except for this podcast. This podcast 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:27.240 is very healthy to put in your ears, so keep 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:31.000 doing that. Send me your questions to Creature Feature Pod 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:34.600 at gmail dot com. I will be back next Wednesday 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:38.560 with more show on. Thank you guys so much for listening. 0:22:38.840 --> 0:22:41.160 If you're enjoying the show, you leave a radio review. 0:22:41.440 --> 0:22:44.200 I appreciate every single one of them. They truly do 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:47.200 health the show. And thanks to the Space Classics for 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:50.800 their super awesome song x so Lumina. Create Your Features 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:53.040 a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts like the ones 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:56.399 you just heard, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 0:22:56.440 --> 0:22:59.760 I Guess what where you you listen to your favorite shows. 0:22:59.840 --> 0:23:01.920 I don't judge you. I'm not your mother. I can't 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:05.080 tell you what to do, except please don't put ear 0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:12.560 mites down your ear. It's gonna have a very predictable effect. Yeah. Anyways, 0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:13.879 see you next Wednesday.