{"id":19322,"date":"2024-03-26T10:44:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T14:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=19322"},"modified":"2024-04-02T16:29:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T20:29:11","slug":"creature-feature","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/spring-2024\/creature-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"CREATURE FEATURE"},"content":{"rendered":"
Research has linked the Conan O\u2019Brien worm (here, in spiny lobster eggs) to the collapse of crab fisheries. Credit: Antonio Baeza.<\/em><\/p>\n Celebrities are a common source of inspiration for scientists when they name new species. Biologists and ecologists have borrowed from musicians for the Taylor Swift millipede and Trent Reznor spider, authors for the Joan Didion wasp and the Neil Gaiman beetle, and comedians for the Stephen Colbert stonefly and the John Oliver trilobite. And the Harrison Ford snake was a nod to the actor and the phobia of his iconic Indiana Jones.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, Conan O\u2019Brien joins the list, with a parasitic worm that carries his name.<\/span><\/p>\n Antonio Baeza, an evolutionary ecologist from Clemson University, discovered a new type of ribbon worm (<\/span>Carcinonemertes conanobrieni<\/span><\/i>) and named it after O\u2019Brien, according to a news release from AAAS, because the worm is \u201clongbodied and pale, with a slight tint of orange.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s also possibly harmful to a vital member of the ecosystem. In a recent study, researchers <\/span>captured 90 egg-bearing spiny lobsters in Caribbean waters near Colombia to assess how the worm affected the lobsters\u2019 reproduction. They found 88% of the lobsters had evidence of Conan O\u2019Brien worms \u2014 which affected embryo mortality up to 43.81%. In contrast, lobsters without worms did not experience embryo mortality.<\/span><\/p>\nCREATURE FEATURE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Conan O\u2019Brien Worms, Sea Dragons, and Ocean Aliens<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Unusual Ocean Creatures Making the Latest Waves<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Recent research from the Caribbean to the U.K. to Antarctica proves the ocean contains no shortage of curiosities.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
BY MARLO CHAPMAN<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Of Worms and Lobsters<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n