# Penis worms were the hermit crabs of their time **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141 "2021-11-10T18:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/1 "2021-11-10T18:57:40Z")
That’s the headline. It turns out, all it means is that an extinct variety of sea worm shaped sorta kinda like a penis used to live in discarded sea shells. Yawn. But when you phrase it like that it makes me want to scrunch over and jam my knees together. _Penis Worms!!!_ Ick! > **[Penis worms were the hermit crabs of their time | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/08/world/penis-worms-fossils-shells-scn/index.html)** > > In the depths of ancient seas more than 500 million years ago, phallic-shaped creatures known as penis worms commandeered empty shells to protect themselves from predators. It's the earliest evidence of sheltering behavior known today in hermit... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/2 "2021-11-10T19:09:02Z")
> [@Hyoliths are lophophores!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hyoliths-are-lophophores/777546/8): > > In the latest [hyolith](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018220302935)-related news, their abandonded shells apparently became homes for some dickworms. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/3 "2021-11-10T19:10:58Z")
Also, while this individual species of priapulid is long gone, the phylum is very much still around. > **[Priapulida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapulida)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > See text > Priapulida (priapulid worms, from Gr. πριάπος, priāpos 'Priapus' + Lat. -ul-, diminutive), sometimes referred to as penis worms, is a phylum of unsegmented marine worms. The name of the phylum relates to the Greek god of fertility, because their general shape and their extensible spiny introvert (eversible) proboscis may resemble the shape of a human penis. They live in the mud and in comparatively shallow waters up to 90 metres (300 f... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/4 "2021-11-10T19:31:16Z")
Is THAT what that thread was about? I thought it was another of those ones about tonsil stones. Hey, it’s a three year old thread. You can’t blame me for not knowing it had an addendum about new Penis Worm news. And it still makes me cringe to write that. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/5 "2021-11-10T20:04:44Z")
Priapulida? Uh huh, okay, Latin taxonomy boy, ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/6 "2021-11-10T20:24:15Z")
BTW, these are _not_ priapulids: > **[Thousands of 'penis-fish' washed ashore a California beach](https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/thousands-of-penis-fish-washed-ashore-a-california-beach.3038034/)** > > Thousands of 'penis-fish' are washed onto a California beach after storm pulled them from their underwater burrows > > Biologist found thousands of fat innkeeper worms on the shore of Drakes Beach in California > He suggests a recent storm pulled them out... ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/7 "2021-11-10T20:26:37Z")
Are you thinking of candiru? > **[Candiru (fish)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru_(fish))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa), also known as cañero, toothpick fish, or vampire fish, is a species of parasitic freshwater catfish in the family Trichomycteridae native to the Amazon Basin where it is found in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. > The definition of candiru differs between authors. The word has been used to refer to only Vandellia cirrhosa, the entire genus Vandellia, the subfamily Vandelliinae, or even ... ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/8 "2021-11-10T20:28:34Z")
Priapulida do resemble another ocean worm, Sipuncula , the peanut worm that shows up in aquariums. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penis-worms-were-the-hermit-crabs-of-their-time/954141/9 "2021-11-13T21:37:56Z")
Ewwwwwwwwww😳