dfainkichen's blog

Figure 1. Lion exhibiting hunting behavior. Creative commons licesned image by Catherine Sumner

https://flic.kr/p/8cz3AR

This creature appears to be a maggot, the larval stage of a future fly. The maggot is cover in a translucent yet distorted outer casing or layer. Through this outer layer a segmented body is revealed. These segments can be seen in movement as they contract and expand to push the maggot along the surface. This may also be indicative of a possible burrowing behavior, perhaps to move soil or dirt out of the maggots path. The body is composed of two visible parts the latter half being a tail that is very resembling to that of a rat. About a millimeter or so of the thin, black tail is exposed from the casing and the tail itself can be followed all of the way up to about half of the maggots body. This indicates that the tail could be a possible breathing mechanism as it provides direct access right into the chest cavity of the maggot. The maggot contains some visible paired organs such as the two antennae that are visible atop the frontal portion of the head. There do not appear to be any set of eyes which could either suggest that they may develop later or that this maggot simply does not rely on eyesight. Legs can be seen pressed up against the sides of the casing appearing in pairs. At the front of the head an appendage can be seen occasionally protruding out which is most likely the mouth attempting to gather food. The maggot also displays an interesting defense mechanism. At any disturbance the maggot seems to freeze up and cease all movement. After the disturbance has passed for a few moments, it resumes to move around in search of either food or shelter. It is a symmetrical creature and the tail divides the entire length exactly in half. The entire maggot is about 2.5 cm long with the tail beginning at 1.25 cm. It is about 0.1 cm wide

Creature is presented in what appears to be a larval stage and is very resembling of a maggot. While it maintains movement the body can be seen through a distorted outer layer or casing. The body is segmented much like that of a worm and the movement is controlled through contracted motions that inch the creature along. The body appears to be in two segments the further end with what appears to be some sort of tail or appendage resembling that of a rat, with the last millimeter or so being exposed from the casing showing the thin black structure underneath. Atop the head two antennae can be seen bilaterally. Lack of any visible eyes suggests that this animal does not rely on vision (at least at this stage) , and the contracted movement points to a possible burrowing behavior perhaps contracting forward as if to push dirt or soil out of the way. From the frontal portion of the head an appendage can be seen repeatedly coming in an out exposing what is most likely some sort of mouth or perhaps an apparatus for the sense of smell. There are thin black structures bilaterally on the sides that seem to be legs that are pushed up against the sides of the casing, leading to suggest that when this enters adult hood it could potentially be the larval stage of some sort of fly or fly-like creature. This maggot stretches out at about 2.5 cm with its tail starting at exactly half its body length at 1.25 cm. The body is thin and is only about 0.1 cm in width. The thin black tail underneath the outer casing can be seen extending from its tip all the way to the center of the body on the inside. This could perhaps suggest that the tail is some sort of breathing apparatus as it is a direct tubing straight to the center of what would be the chest of the maggot. It could potentially provide air if this maggot were underwater or in dirt.