Photo source: The Peripatetic Pedaller
Most creatures have the decency of hunting, then eating, then digesting. Not so with the land planarian. No, this creature hunts, then digests, then eats. As the Peripatetic Pedaller describes: "They digest their prey outside their bodies, by secreting enzymes that will melt an earthworm into a digestible slurry. Yum."
To add insult to injury, the planarian's mouth is also its anus (I imagine they don't kiss very often). And, they travel on a slime trail like snails and slugs. But they can also use this slime to create a thread to dangle itself down to otherwise unreachable sections of the forest floor.
Who knew such a basic creature could provide us with so many I-just-threw-up-a-little-in-my-mouth moments?
Thanks, Joe.
That top photo is very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe head makes it look a bit alien :)
I used to guard a downtown office building in Austin.
ReplyDeleteThere aren't many critters that creep me out...and a few of these wouldn't be a problem...
...but patrolling past the glassed-in pavilion at four in the morning and watching as HUNDREDS of them slimed their way up the glass...? Definite eek moment.
--TwoDragons
Denita, you are a woman of many talents.
ReplyDeleteDenita, that's a very eek! moment. =(
ReplyDeleteThe first picture is ok, but worms creep me out. I'm sure they're all fascinating and stuff (who wouldn't want an earthworm slurry?!) but I would still run away in fear if I saw one. Or hundreds.
I'm pretty sure slugs can do the dangle-trick too. I found a dangling slug just a week or two ago.
ReplyDeleteThis little Planarian takes the phrase "talking out of your ass" to a whole new level. Since that seems to be a prominent quality amongst politicians, maybe the Planarian should run for office.
ReplyDeleteWombat, I can't tell if you're complimenting or insulting me...or both... ;-)
ReplyDeleteYeah, let's just say I'm really happy to be living in a much drier, more gravelly part of the Lone Star State now. Yeesh.
--TwoDragons
Compliments only, Denita.
ReplyDeleteHave these made it to Hawaii? My wife found something like that a few weeks ago on the Big Island. What else do they eat, or have earthworms made it there too?
ReplyDeleteWe found a less colorful version in Croatan National Park, New Bern, NC, a few weeks ago. Before we know what they were, we called the "nightmare slugs", because we were certain we'd have nightmares that night!
ReplyDeleteI remember finding lots of these (maybe not this particular species, but definitely land planarians) around my house in Fort Worth, Texas several years ago.
ReplyDelete