This is an organism with a fascinating adaptation I just heard about!
You may have heard of Keratin, the main material the scales, hair, nails, horns, hooves etc of animals. Now, the thing with keratin is that it's close to impossible to be digested by almost all species in the world. Only a selected few can pull it off and that's why when an animal dies stuff like hair and horns are the last to break down.
But there are a selected few organisms that have developed the ability to feast on it.
And amongst them is a moth. Actually, a genus of moths called Ceratophaga, Their name is derived from the Greek word for "horn eater" due to their ability to feast on Keratin.
The genus is comprised of almost 20 known species most occuring in Africa and Asia. The best known species is Ceratophaga vastella.
Their larva feed on keratin from the horns and hooves of dead ungulates:
Creepy!!!
Another notable and even more unique example is Ceratophaga vicinella from the Americas. This one mainly occurs in Florida and Mississippi.
Now, what makes this one even more special is that it doesn't feed on hooves and horns like the other ceratophaga species. Instead it relies on the shells of dead gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) for its survival.
Sadly, the populations of the tortoise are rapidly declining and as a result the same happens to the moth as it is running out of dead hosts 😔
In case you wonder, the adult moths are nothing special. Boring, somewhat ugly and really small:
Ceratophaga vicinella adult specimen, source
So yeah, interesting little fuckers!
Unfortunately I couldn't find any videos to share but there's plenty more info and photos if you search for Ceratophaga!
Ok, I guess this is it for today. See you soon with more crazy wonders of nature!