Scientists have discovered the so-called hermaphrodite flatworm can reproduce by using its needle-like penis to inject sperm into its own head.

Named Macrostomum hystix, this water-dwelling worm produces both eggs and sperm. Typically, it reproduces with other flatworms, but if it can’t find a mate, it is perfectly capable of fertilizing the eggs on its own, according to a Guardian report.

Once the sperm is injected, it swims through the body to fertilize eggs in the tail.

While it sounds like a “gruesome” reality, it is better than not reproducing at all for the flatworm, said Dr. Steven Ramm, an evolutionary biologist at Bielefeld University in Germany, who helped produce the research and was quoted in the report.

Scientists believe the worms evolved this ability to inject sperm directly into its body to take control over sperm transfer. After developing what scientists refer to as a hypodermic penis, the worms are then able to create simplified sperm that enables it to be more mobile and simply pass through the body on its way to the eggs.

To make the findings — which were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B — scientists took 100 flatworms and split them into two batches, the first batch kept isolated and the second patch put into groups of three. Four weeks later, the sperm was examined.

Scientists found that worms in groups had more sperm in their tails. The isolated worms, on the other hand, had sperm in their head or middle regions, suggesting that they had injected themselves with the penis in the head.

It’s not the first time scientists have come across animals that are able to self-fertilize, but it’s the first case where a hypodermic appendage has been used to do it.