These giant worms originate in Southeast Asia and some species can grow to be two feet long.
Sébastien SantWildlife officials in Virginia were baffle by an strange “ Hydra ” that was later identifed as a gargantuan hammerhead worm .
In early November , officials from Virginia Wildlife Management and Control come across something they had never seen before : a slithering creature that looked like a snake with an peculiar hammer - shaped head . The agency partake in a pic of the slinking animal on their societal media varlet .
“ We identify thousands of snakes every year … but the job is , we ’ve never seen anything like it before and we ’re not sure if it ’s a freak of nature , ” show the subtitle on the post , which has since been deleted .
Sébastien SantWildlife officials in Virginia were dumbfounded by an unusual “snake” that was later identifed as a giant hammerhead worm.
But the animal was n’t some bizarre Modern snake metal money . It was really an invasive gargantuan worm .
As theCharlotte Observerreports , the unusual animal was later identified as a hammerhead dirt ball . According to the Texas Invasive Species Institute , the hammerhead worm is a “ tellurian platyhelminth ” that is native to Southeast Asia . Wildlife official may have been unable to describe the critter because it is an invading species .
These giant hammerhead worms orBipalium kewensegot their scientific name when they were firstidentifiedoutside of Asia in 1878 in the tropical greenhouse of Kew Gardens , London . The garden held a plethora of alien industrial plant metal money that had been convey to England by British researcher . “ Kewense ” is a Romance condition signify “ from Kew . ”
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences/University of FloridaThese flatworms were first identified outside of Asia in the exotic plants garden of London in 1878.
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences / University of FloridaThese flatworms were first name outside of Asia in the alien plants garden of London in 1878 .
Since the 1990s , at least five of these flatworm species have beendetectedin parts of France and in French compound dominion . Now , the mintage is also present in the U.S.
These giant insect have been thrive out of doors of their natural environment for a number of reason . The first is that they are hermaphroditic , meaning they have both manlike and female genitalia . This biologic attribute makes it easy for the flatworms to multiply .
Pierre GrosHammerhead flatworms primarily feed on earthworms which makes them bad for the environment.
“ Another ground is the absence of piranha , ” tell Jean - Lou Justine , the lead author on a previous study of the invading insect coinage and a prof with the Department of Systematics and Evolution at the National Museum of Natural chronicle in Paris . “ domain flatworms produce chemicals that give them an unpleasant taste , ” which means predators do n’t eat them .
However , these worms can maturate reasonably large with some metal money attain two feet in duration , which may be why the Virginia resident who first reported the hammerhead sighting suppose it was a snake in the grass .
Pierre GrosHammerhead flatworm primarily feed on earthworms which makes them forged for the surroundings .
But that ’s not all . These giant worms also have an unbelievable ability to regenerate . Even if you were to abridge off 1/300th of their body , that piece can develop back into a full - sized worm , and this continue even if you rationalize it into seven different pieces , like a Hydra from Greek mythology .
To rule out these giant worms , pest dominance expert suggest swim them in salt or citrus tree oil colour . These giant dirt - dwellers can induce damage to the local ecosystem since they give in the main on earthworms , creature who aerate the soil and keep it respectable .
So , if you ever see yourself drumhead - to - head with a hammerhead , make certain you lend out the common salt instead of trying to smash it into bits . Otherwise , you may feel yourself combat with more critter than you bargained for .
Next , show about a worm organism trapped in the Arctic icing that scientist were capable toresurrectafter 40,000 year and learn about the terrific legend of theMongolian death insect , the monstrous cryptid armed with spike heel and deadly maliciousness .
