"So, naturalists observe, a flea has smaller fleas that on him prey; and these have smaller still to bite ’em; and so proceed ad infinitum."
- Jonathan Swift

December 1, 2010

December 1 - Crossobothrium antonioi

Crossobothrium antonioi is a species of tapeworm that was just described last year after finding it in the broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus), off the coast of Argentina. This tapeworm may win the worldwide contest for having the most "cojones" as the colloquial saying goes - A mature worm can have over 60 segments or proglottids, and in every single one of them, C. antonioi has over 700 testes! That sounds rather formidable - until you realize that the entire tapeworm is only about 50 mm long.

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