Like a pelican in the wilderness

Once it was the fashion to use the pelican as an image of Christ, because it was mistakenly believed that pelicans injured themselves to feed their young with their own blood. In fact I see this image in the Good Friday service books of a church I go to for that service. It even made it into a hymn by Thomas Aquinas.

Well it seems that there really is an animal that makes itself a living sacrifice for its offspring. It's a worm-like amphibian that lets its offspring feed on its own flesh. The skin gets doubly-thick and regenerates itself. Apparently the skin turns into some sort of milk-like (or milk-comparable) substance. It's the only animal known that does this.

I doubt this animal will turn into a popular image for Christ, though! First of all it's not cute and cuddly, second of all it's way too obscure. But it's an interesting study.