Writing in Biology

Unknown Organism Observations

• Moves like a worm (expands and contracts)
• Thin stretchable skin (nearly transparent)
• Can see internal organs
• Has a head that is used to feel out the environment ahead of it
• Has a long thin pin-like tail (water motility?)
• Tail largely unused when moving on land
• Body roughly 1.5 cm long (1.75 cm when stretched) , and .5 cm wide                                                                              
• Tail roughly 2.5 cm long
• Has a correct orientation/” bottom side” (flips itself over before moving forward again when put upside-down)
• Has small projections on the bottom side for traction
• Tail is flexible

The organism that was observed had a body length of about 1.5 cm when fully expanded and a tail length that was also about 1.5 cm. The body length when the organism was at rest, was about 1 cm. The organism had a smooth, light brownish, clear body. At the bottom of its body there appear to be small digits, which seem to assist the organism when it moves. The organism appears to have no eyes, relying on its sense of touch to locate and sense its surroundings. This is apparent when the organism stretches its body out to move. It appears that a tongue or mouth like receptor extends out to sense what’s in front of it. This could be the reason why the organism only moves in a forward direction. The range of this sensory receptor also seems to be limited because the organism would usually walk into the wooden chips or move them out of its way, rather than going around them and avoiding them.  When the organism was touched or when the container was moved, it would immediately stop moving. Lastly, the organism preferred to move toward the edges of the container and at times, it would climb over the container.

The color of the larvae body is a creamy white with a black thin tail that is about 15 mm long. The tail is about one millimeter longer than the body itself. It appears that the tail is dead and stiff due to the black color. It moves around like a small caterpillar, shortening and lengthening with its bilaterally symmetrical and tiny legs. Its' organs are inside of a translucent cocoon that has very small ridges on the outside. There is some sort of hole in the front region from which a dark mouth pokes out every time it pulls itself forward. This could be a way that the larvae senses its immediate surroundings. The larvae is trying to escape over the edge of the container but appears to have a difficult time climbing up and out, probably due to its tail. It would be interesting to know what its optimal environment is and what stage of development it is in.

The organism is about 26mm in total length. This organism has a spherical body and long, thin tail. The tail length is about 15mm and the body length is about 11mm. It's body is about 3mm wide. The organism is a tan color but is see-through. Inside the body are visible and symmetric organs, some of which are white and some are dark. The white organs appear to make a figure-eight structure around the darker organs.  The organism moves similar to a caterpillar in that it perorms an abduction/adduction movement. At first the organism did not move. After some time, however, it began to wriggle around. The movement of the organism seems to be random, with no path or direction. It often flips over and rolls around. The eyes are not visible; perhaps the tail functions for environment sensation. The tail is longer than the body by about 5mm. It does not appear to have any appendages. There are however, small bumps on its underside which may be functional is movement or traction. Based on it's random movement it is likely that the organism is in a juvenile stage. 

The unknown specimen is tan in coloring, but also translucent as one can see through the outer layer.  The specimen’s body looks like a meal worm body, although, has a long tail- like appendage at the posterior of the body. The tail-like appendage is thick at the base and becomes thinner until the end, which has a black color. The beginning of tail starts in the middle of the specimen’s body. The movement of the body can be described as slow, as it only moves in short distances. The specimen has eight short legs. The specimen seems to be attracted to the wood chips in the glass holder. When there is movement unknown to the specimen, it becomes docile and curls up into a ball.  As observed, the specimen can roll itself over if in its back. It is bilateral symmetrical. The unknown specimen is about 15 mm in length, although, if movement is occurring the specimen is about 17-20 mm as it extends its anterior during movement. The thickest width of the body is 3 mm. The posterior tail-like appendage is 23 mm in length. Therefore, the specimen’s full length from the anterior to the posterior is about 38 mm.  In order to identify the specimen I would ask certain questions. My first question would be: what type of environment does this unknown specimen live in? Is this specimen fully grown into its adult life? If the adult description different than the stage the specimen is at now? After carefully analysis of the unknown specimen, it was found the identity was a fly maggot. 

The object is a fly larvae. It has a body length of 1.3cm, a tail length of 1.5cm and a total length of 2.8cm. The larvae has translucent skin and organs are visible internally. It has a dark colored head and tail. The tail seems to continue into the body and the very end of the tail is uncovered by the translucent tissue. The larvae often stops moving when touched or agitated. It cannot travel long distances in a straight line, and generally rolls over or abruptly changes direction. However, it seems to prefer being in motion to staying still. The larvae exhibits bilateral symmetry and the body contracts and expands to aid in movement.

- this organism appears to have a body-like structure with a long wirey tail 

- there appears to be a coated translucent layer surrounding the organism 

 - it propells itself forward in a wave-like amnner beginning with the back of the body up the length and ends with the stretching of the head forward

- the end of the tail is not covred by the translucent coating 

- 6 leg-like cilia propell it forward 

- the body is roughly 15 mm and the tail is roughly 15 mm in length as well. The body is also 3 mm in height 

- It tends to lack direction, circling the perimeter of the container and it appears to stop when moved or shaken 

- The underbelly of the organism shows intestinal-like organs that are symmetrical and white on both sides 

- A couple of questions remain including if the organism is fully developed, what does it feed on? what is its natural habitat? how does it interact with other organisms? 

The creature that we were given to observe is partially transparent and long in shape. Its tail is slightly longer than its body, at about 2 cm, and the body is about 1.5 cm. The creature moves slowly in a slinking motion similar to the way that an inchworm moves. The creature is covered in a fuzzy white film aside from the very end of its tail. There is a thin dark line dividing the creature’s body into two sides. Dark spots, what may be eyes, are centered at the front of the creature’s head. The creature may not be able to see but can sense its surroundings in some way. It appears to be eating the wooden flakes and these flakes are visible in its torso in what are most likely its intestines. The specimen keeps arching its anterior and continues to move in a slinking motion. Whenever the container is moved or the creature can sense a change in environment, the creature freezes and for about thirty seconds. The creature prefers the edge of the container, moving in a ciorcular motion. It occasionally pokes its anterior upwards and touches the wall of the container, attempting to escape. I would like to know how this creature reacts in warmer and cooler temperatures and how it would interact with others of its kind. Other questions I have include: Can it move faster when provoked? Why does it play dead when it senses change? Does this creature bite? Has it finished growing? How does it reproduce? Where are its pain receptors?

The specimen is roughly 30mm long and is a light brown color. There is a body (14mm) and a long narrow tail (16mm). The specimen is able to move by constricting and elongating its body, moving in a manner similar to a worm or caterpillar. When elongating, the length of the specimen increases by roughly 3mm. On the underside of the specimen there are eight small bumps, seemingly akin to feet. The creature only moves when these bumps are on the ground, supporting the belief that they function as feet. As the specimen crawls forward, the outer layer of flesh on the “head area” retracts, and two small protrusions are produced from the face. I hypothesize that these protrusions form the mouth of the creature. The creature seems to have knowledge of its surroundings, as it attempted to crawl out of the holding container multiple times. The specimen would also cease movement if the holding container was moved or disturbed. This is likely a survival mechanism where the creature senses danger from being moved, and freezes in the hopes of not being discovered.

Today, we got the chance to closely observe a maggot with a tail. Maggot is a pre-form of a fly that has a tail along with the body. Its body is somewhat translucent which means that I can see some of its inner organs and tissues but not all the way through its body. It seems as if it does not have eyes and it uses its tail to find and locate the general direction it wants to take. It moves in one direction and it travels very slowly and calmly. Some of the questions I may ask is, "Do they need their tail in order to survive? What do they eat? In what conditions do they need to live in order to survive? How big can they grow?" I found it very interesting how the larvae's body itself was about two centimeters long because the tail was about two centimeters long as well. It would be awesome to be able to see its growth and see the larvae turn into a fly.