Maine invaded by toxic cannibal worms

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Originally published at: Maine invaded by toxic cannibal worms | Boing Boing

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2022, not only trying to outdo 2021 but also itself.

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Ugh. Planarians. So gross.

We’ve got similar invasive planarians around here. Not sure they are exactly the same, but they are invasive and they are disgusting. I think I’ve dealt with them in the past by dousing them with rubbing alcohol.

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only have one orifice that serves as both a mouth and a butthole.

The GOP/Politics thread is over there, thanks.

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and Susan Collins has issued a statement to the effect that “these cannibal worms have assured me that they will behave themselves on Maine soil. I am certain they will be wholly accountable for their actions.”

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Was thinking we finally might have a reason Sen. Collins is so “absent”

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That is not a nice way to refer to Susan Collins!

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Oh yay. They are in Texas too
http://www.tsusinvasives.org/home/database/bipalium-kewense

Traumatized disgust GIF

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Too hot in the high desert for those bloody nasty things.

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Not commonly known, but standard earthworms are also an introduced species in North America, and as much as they are beneficial for gardening, they appear to be one cause of declining insect populations in forests.

[ETA: CLARIFICATION– I misunderstood part of this paper when I first saw it cited elsewhere, there are earthworms native to North America, but they did not range that far north, plus European worms have also been introduced in those areas where native species did not exist. Thanks to @Scientist for clearing that up.]

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Had anyone thought “Hey, let these species do their thing and see what happens.”?

Didn’t quite work out with the Spanish into North America … but I’ve got a good feeling about these worms.

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Toxic cannibal worms is good, but I still think murder hornets have the edge.

Tag yourself, I’m #teammurderhornet

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TIL, thanks

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No offense, but cannibal has a specific meaning and is used incorrectly in the title to this post. Cannibalism is when an organism of Species X eats other organisms of Species X.

These planarian worms eat worms of an entirely different animal phylum. It’s like saying humans are cannibals when we eat shrimp.

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Very cool. I was not familiar with these guys. Tetrodotoxin is present throughout their body, so any part of them could cause local paralysis if touched

also I was pedant sniped. :slight_smile: I had already started to type this same point

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So you’re saying it will be a challenge to train enough chefs in the preparation of earth-fugu in time to deal with this menace?

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These noxious invaders have been reported in my Atlanta neighborhood too, though I haven’t seen any in my yard. Yet.

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But is she concerned?

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So what sort of non-standard earthworms improve the soil in North America? Serious question.

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There are many genera of earthworms native to North America. You can see a survey of locations of 76 species below (of which 18 were brought from Europe, 13 from Asia, and 1 fromAfrica). The Science Daily article is about Canada and the strip of the US that was covered by a glacier in the last ice age, which killed all the earthworms. Although some of their current worms came from Europe, most introduced species have come from the Southern US.

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