Wormy Thing
October 5th, 2007 by Editor BXy found this crawling around on our deck this morning and demanded I take a picture.
It’s shaped like a worm but has the texture of a slug, and it’s very distinctive with the stripe down the back and the hammerhead. I’m not sure if it’s a true worm some sort of mollusk or what. We’ve never seen one before but a co-worker told me they’re quite common around here. He didn’t know what they were either.
It’s about two inches long, maybe two and half.
I posted this to the ID Please group in hopes of finding out what it is.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I caught one of those when I was a kid and thought it was a leech (never having seen a leech before). I put it in a jar intending to keep it alive until school started, then I forgot about it. Found the jar a few weeks later. Stinky!
October 5th, 2007 at 11:30 am
It’s a planarian apparently. Googled “hammer head worms” and came up with:
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/land_planarians.htm
October 5th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Planarians are flat. This looks fairly 3D.
October 5th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Chop it in half and see if you get two.
October 6th, 2007 at 2:08 am
God! Thank you so much Bart for the inspiration!
I could make a great ‘B’ movie with this thing…..
‘IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE’ — a leftover Hurr. Katrina mutant that changes into an 8′ creature that can disguise itself to be anybody….Mayor Nagin, Blanco, (any and all other worms we know of)….
Thanks. Will beginning filming on my super 8 today!
nolasusan
October 6th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I have no idea what it is, but, after seeing your picture, I dreamed about one last night.
October 11th, 2007 at 9:33 am
[...] laughs about Bill Jefferson’s latest “bathroom defense” while another takes a picture of a strange worm he found on his [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Yeah - I think planarians are smaller and not striped. (I’m a fan of planarians, though).
If you ever figure out what it is, Editor B, please let us know!
October 16th, 2007 at 9:31 am
land planarian, Bipalium kewense Moseley