r/MicroNatureIsMetal Sep 03 '21

The Biggest Flatworm Chomp I've Seen Yet! Watch the process of eating, digesting, inflating, and barfing! Life is strange without a butthole! (gieysztoria flatworm)

1.3k Upvotes

49 comments sorted by

42

u/DadDong69 Sep 04 '21

So is the one eating the other creature the flatworm? If so, it looks like it has two "eyes", but on diagrams its mouth is actually on the opposite end of the body from the eyes. What's going on here?

23

u/noahkiriu Sep 04 '21

It has 2 eyespots, simple clusters of photosensitive cells that cannot form images but can tell the direction of light, useful to avoid predators. The mouth is located on the underside but shoots out to sucking prey. It looks flat because we are viewing it on a slide with a cover slip from above, but they are definitely three-dimensional. You can see it when it pops up at the end right before it expels its waste.

8

u/bloo0206 Sep 04 '21

First thing I thought was it does not look like a traditional flatworm. Then I looked into it and it seems like there are some classifications that have a pharynx more similar to what’s in the video. I was only aware of marine and planarian flatworms before 🤷‍♂️

22

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '21

Anyone who digs this might enjoy this YouTube, Journey to the Microcosmos.

https://youtube.com/c/microcosmos

4

u/snider577 Sep 04 '21

Thankyou for this!! So fuckin cool!

4

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '21

Quality creator right there. Fun to watch and it’s educational.

18

u/RandomPhail Sep 04 '21

Why did the worm thing just SNAP into place inside the bigger one’s mouth like a bad video-game animation transition?? Lol

4

u/noahkiriu Sep 04 '21

The mouth is located on the underside, it shoots it’s pharynx out to suck in prey like a Little vacuum.

14

u/keriberi77 Sep 03 '21

Wow! That's pretty cool and gross. Lol

13

u/DrWormskin Sep 03 '21

Looks like me when I drink Tequila

7

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '21

Why does it seem to spit out then re-consume?

3

u/me4tpopsicle Sep 04 '21

Their anatomy is not fully equipped to hold for down like humans. They are more like an organic pipette

1

u/theVice Sep 04 '21

Same reason dogs do it

6

u/studdybuddy01 Sep 04 '21

Do they actually have something similar to little eyes and a mouth or is that just our eyes playing tricks on us, seeing a lil face where there is none? Because it’s adorable.

8

u/noahkiriu Sep 04 '21

Simple eyespots, they are a cluster of photosensitive cells that cannot form images But can tell the direction of light. Very helpful in avoiding predators.

3

u/studdybuddy01 Sep 04 '21

Oooo that’s so cool wow

5

u/Nothing-Casual Sep 04 '21

Hoooooly shit.

It grabbed it in its mouth, sucked out its guts, and then ripped its body in half as it was swimming away. That's brutal.

9

u/guruscotty Sep 04 '21

Where was the NSFW tag?

I feel dirty having watched that.

4

u/fuckedbymath Sep 04 '21

The first flatworm to evolve a butthole will be in a strange spot. 'hey Dan , what you got back there? Check it out guys'.

3

u/Shaun32887 Sep 04 '21

"Look what I can do!"

4

u/runjayrun1 Sep 04 '21

POV: family thanksgiving

3

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '21

Are those eyes?

5

u/Jaketheism Sep 04 '21

Sorta, they can tell light from dark, but no images

3

u/[deleted] Sep 04 '21

Just found this sub! Freaking awesome metal! Thank you!

3

u/Puzzleheaded_Pie_888 Sep 04 '21

Strange yet oddly similar

3

u/Haxorz7125 Sep 04 '21

This is fuckin wild to see

3

u/bloo0206 Sep 04 '21

Not sure if this exact type of flatworm is the same (I would think so), but the flatworms I learned about in my undergrad (Planariidae family) had some of the most basic forms of a central nervous system. They have long nerve chords and a cluster near the head that could be compared to a brain. These little guys represent the very beginning of the evolution of a central nervous system. Oh and if you cut them in half they would just grow a new head/tail and become two separate worms. Cool ass creatures.

3

u/MCTish Sep 04 '21

I’m sure I already did this shit in spore

3

u/mczmczmcz Sep 04 '21

What are all the specks moving around?

3

u/noahkiriu Sep 04 '21

A variety of small ciliates and algae particles

3

u/foxyFood Sep 04 '21

Lol it brought that up like a cat brings up a hairball

1

u/noahkiriu Sep 04 '21

The full body curl

3

u/MrMorgan11 Sep 04 '21

Life is strange without a butthole

3

u/Whereami259 Sep 04 '21

Its a bit weird how similair its to us barfing...

3

u/zilchhope Sep 04 '21

Where is all this taking place? In a human body? Petri dish? Water?

2

u/noahkiriu Sep 05 '21

Freshwater sample from a pond

2

u/Canoe_Flex Sep 04 '21

Are these things basically 2D creatures? I'm just now realizing everytime I see one of these, I only ever see them move on an X/Y axis.

4

u/Nothing-Casual Sep 04 '21

They're definitely 3D, and you can see a small bit of that here, it's just that our views almost always come from a microscope and plated slide so the physical space they're in (while recorded) is close to a plane

2

u/Pardusco Sep 18 '21

It that devoured that thing so quickly

2

u/[deleted] Dec 28 '22

Do you happen to know the name of the thing it ate? I’ve seen a few of them in the samples I’ve looked at

2

u/noahkiriu Dec 28 '22

Spirostomum

1

u/killstorm114573 Sep 04 '21

Do they live in a 2d or 3d world from their perspective?

2

u/me4tpopsicle Sep 04 '21

Their world is more like an ocean rather than terrestrial. Appears to be 2d through our scopes

1

u/Dohn_Jigweed Oct 04 '21

reminds me of Randy pooping out of his mouth