Heptamegacanthus is a genus of acanthocephalans (thorny- or spiny-headed parasitic worms) containing a single species, Heptamegacanthus niekerki. This worm is a parasite of the endangered giant golden mole (example pictured) found only in isolated forests near East London and in the Transkei, both in South Africa. The worms are about 4 millimetres (0.2 in) long and 2 millimetres (0.08 in) wide with minimal sexual dimorphism. Their body consists of a short trunk and a proboscis with 40 to 45 hooks arranged in rings, which are used to pierce and hold the rectal wall of its host. The life cycle of H. niekerki remains unknown; however, like other acanthocephalans, it likely involves complex interactions with at least two hosts. Although the intermediate host for Heptamegacanthus is not definitively identified, it is presumed to be an arthropod, such as an insect, which is eaten by the giant golden mole. The worms then mature and reproduce sexually within the mole's lower gastrointestinal tract, creating eggs which are released in its feces.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptamegacanthus

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1842:

The University of Notre Dame (building pictured) was founded by Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross as an all-male institution in the U.S. state of Indiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Notre_Dame

1942:

World War II: Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans convened the first meeting of the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia at Bihać in northwestern Bosnia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Fascist_Council_for_the_National_Liberation_of_Yugoslavia

1977:

A speaker claiming to represent the "Intergalactic Association" interrupted a broadcast of Southern Television in South East England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Television_broadcast_interruption

2014:

The European Space Agency's probe Philae landed on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philae_%28spacecraft%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

arent: (obsolete, rare) Drying out, parching, withering. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arent

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You know, the Cathars believed that the world was not created by God but by a demon who had stolen a few technological secrets from Him and made this world — which is why it doesn’t work. I don’t share this heresy. I’m too afraid! But I put it in a play called This Extraordinary Brothel, in which the protagonist doesn’t talk at all. There is a revolution, everybody kills everybody else, and he doesn’t understand. But at the very end, he speaks for the first time. He points his finger towards the sky and shakes it at God, saying, “You rogue! You little rogue!” and he bursts out laughing. He understands that the world is an enormous farce, a canular played by God against man, and that he has to play God’s game and laugh about it.   --Eugène Ionesco https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Ionesco