> The outside (or ‘edge’) of the occlupanid is often smooth, but many species sport palps, or tabs. These have unguessable purposes for mating, locomotion, defense, take your pick.
I propose that these palps or tabs are remnants of the reproductive cycle, vestigial points of contact in the budding process. This phenomenon can be observed in some other classes within phylum Plasticae, and I see no reason to assume it is not happening here.
When I was a child, I remember going to the nearby children's museum and seeing an exhibit with 1 million bread tags. It was supposed to help conceptualize the number.
I distinctly remember seeing an exhibition of this work in Los Angeles in the early aughts. For the life of me I can't remember where. The photos were shot with a macro lens and blown up so that each specimen was ... 12" square? maybe bigger?
Even then there were dozens upon dozens of them on display. It was mind bending.
In my experience, in natural environments that contain a vertical paper towel holder, Torqueroligiverasacculum Genera finds a nest and potential mating area underneath.
I've been getting listicle spam/ads with a CTA promising to reveal why you should always carry one of these in your wallet. To this day I never found out why that is!
In Australia they are occasionally used as a temporary fix for plastic sandals when the piece between your toes pulls through the base you can push it back through attach one of these around it on the bottom and it will hold long enough for you to get new ones.
Hmm, if we're being really pedantic and go a step further, it becomes incorrect take: The text says parasitoids, which resemble parasites but probably aren't.
Much like how "asteroid samples" means rocks instead of hot plasma from stars (aster), or "android battery" doesn't mean something surgically cut out of an human man (andros).
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