Cthulu Journeys into the Realm of Biology: Octopus-like Microbes Named After Legendary Monster

The monstrous, squid-like Cthulu has made its way across the internet and literature. Now, it's made its way into biology. Researchers have identified a pair of microbes that help termites digest wood and have decided to name them after the legendary creature.

Cthulu is a fictional monster that was first described by H. P. Lovecraft in his book, "The Call of Cthulu." The creature has a vaguely anthropoid outline, but has an octopus-like head with a face consisting of a mass of feelers. If you've ever watched "Dr. Who," the being looks a bit like an Ood.

So what exactly prompted two researchers at the University of British Columbia to name tiny symbiotic microbes after the terrifying monster? Good question. The recently discovered species are named Cthulu macrofasciculumque and Cthylla microfasciculumque. The latter is named after the lesser-known daughter of Cthulu, who was not created by Lovecraft but was instead imagined by authors working within the mythos of Cthulu. In this case, it turns out that the octopus-like movements that the microbes used reminded the two researchers of Cthulu and its spawn.

It's not likely that these microbes will cause any problems for the human race, though. The tiny creatures are no more than 10-20 microns in length, and live only in the stomachs of termites. Although most protists living within termite stomachs have already been identified, these latest ones escaped notice due to how small that they are.

Aside from having some pretty amazing names, though, these recently discovered microbes could have other impacts.

"The huge diversity of microbial organisms is a completely untapped resource," said Erick James, lead author of the paper, in an interview with Science Blog. "Studying protists can tell us about the evolution of organisms. Some protists cause diseases, but others live in symbiotic relationships, like these flagellates in the intestines of termites."

The paper is published in the online journal PLOS ONE.

Want to see Cthulu and Cthylla for yourself? Check them out on this video here.