Both jynxcat and Jim sent this little guy in. Daniel, whose hand we see bearing the creature, finds them while digging beneath rocks in New South Wales, Australia. (Which would lead a lot of people to stop digging beneath rocks). There are lots of guesses as to what this might be, but I know several of you can pin down a relatively specific ID. Any takers?
For the rest of us who don't have the scientific detachment needed to compartmentalize our reaction, enjoy being ooged out.
(If the player is acting weird (Flickr's issue, not yours), just click around on the progress bar, and you'll get an idea of what it's doing).
Nemertean worm? I've seen that everting proboscis-like organ behavior while handling milky nemerteans, but their mostly marine and rather flat...
ReplyDeletemy other guess is a type of Echiuran, or spoon worm...
very cool regardless of species
I was going to guess at a nemertean, as well. I believe echiuran proboscids (probosces?) aren't retractable like that.
ReplyDeleteThe Wombat might be interested to know that some nemerteans include the longest animals in the world. While lengths are a little difficult to measure due to the delicate nature of the animals, some species certainly reach over 30 m.
Wow, I live in Australia and have NEVER seen anything like that. Just going out to turn over some rocks in my yard. Be back soon, I hope.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nemertean. Rick probably meant sipunculun, not echiuran. It looks a lot like a sipunculan, which can evert out a linear featureless pharynx but I've never heard of a terrestrial sipunculan before. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just that I study marine biology!
ReplyDeleteWombat, I think we're gonna need a fancier word for "ugly."
ReplyDeleteTerrestrial Ribbon Worm:
ReplyDeletegeonemertes australiensis
Ewww. I don't want that thing on my hand, Sir. Too afraid it'd stab me and lay eggs in me and I'd end up as some Twilight Zone/House episode case. But I'm very glad someone else did so I can get my voyeuristic kicks from this.
ReplyDeleteI am with John Gunn, god I love living in Ausralia!
ReplyDeleteDQ
oh. ugh. ugh ugh ugh. the ONLY thing so far that's made me go Ugh.
ReplyDeletegotta go crawl in a corner now. ugh.
I have to admit that I had a stereotypical girl response when it spit its guts out like toothpaste and then sucked them back in... shaking my hands out and saying "ew, ew, ew." Nice find.
ReplyDelete