Arthropod Chain Gangs

monk writes "Science News references a story in the October 10 Science about Cambrian invertebrates which formed weird permanent chains up to twenty individuals long. 'The discovery of 525-million-year-old fossils belonging to a new species of arthropod shows that these animals formed communal chains never before seen in fossilized invertebrates.' It should be obvious to any Slashdotter of a certain age that this is the true origin of the so called 'centipede' in the eponymous game."

Comments

cthulhu fhtagn

[Anonymous Coward]

cthulhu fhtagn

Echidna sex

[AliasMarlowe]

The echidna (a monotreme mammal, related to the platypus) forms conga-lines for sex.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/June2000/default.htm

To further amaze and/or impress you, the male echidna has a four-headed penis. Two of them become erect at a time and are both used during mating. The pairs of active penis heads alternate in subsequent matings.

Mind you, I bet their sex lives are pestered horribly by grad students wielding research grants and expensive cameras.