For the first time, Karl Linnaeus singled out a kingdom of worms into a separate animal kingdom, but today this name is considered obsolete in the scientific world. Most people have unpleasant associations with the word "worms." But not everything is so simple. Nature endowed many representatives of this class with original forms, as well as unusual behavior. We will conduct a small zoological study, and in our review the most beautiful and unusual worms that live on our planet.
Beautiful marine life
We begin our review with beautiful worms that live in the seas of the oceans.
1
Pseudoceros dimidiatus
The beautiful flat sea worm belonged to the class of ciliary worms, but is now classified to the class Rhabditophora. Unlike worms, it is completely safe.
These bright beauties grow up to 8 cm in length. The velvety black color of Pseudoceros dimidiatus is marked with bright yellow or white stripes. The edge of the body is framed by an orange stripe. This color protects the harmless marine inhabitant from enemies.
While moving, it flutters in the ocean waters like a butterfly in the air. It lives among the same beautiful coral reefs of the Indian Ocean and in the western part of the Pacific Ocean.
2
Pseudoceros liparus
Polycladids belong to the order, and this marine worm grows from 4 to 6 cm. Lives on the flat slopes of coral reefs in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Body color is a delicate lavender-blue color with lilac shades. Throughout the body runs a white stripe with a purple border. It feeds only on ascidia, which are found in large colonies on reefs.
The beautiful worm is completely safe, and you can meet it from the island of Madagascar to the coast of Australia.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is a fascinating article about unusual sea creatures, similar to fantastic aliens.
3
Pseudoceros japonica
In total, more than 3,500 species belong to the class Rhabditophora, but on the eastern coast of Russia you can meet the largest of the order Pseudoceros japonica.
It grows to 8 cm, and the body color is gently beige with white spots. Despite the primitive nervous system, their sense organs are well developed. Throughout the body, such marine inhabitants have peculiar cilia on which the nerve endings are located.
During the mating season, they actively move in the water, waving their bodies. Scientists observed large colonies of this species in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan.
4
Clavelina lepadiformis
In the scientific world, this colonial sea worm is called Lepadiformis. But because of the unusual appearance, you can often find the name "Light bulb sea spray."
It lives in the northeast Atlantic off the coast of Ireland, Great Britain and Norway. Small colonies were seen in the Mediterranean. Grow up to 4 cm in length.
White internal organs of the worm are covered with a transparent tunic. A small luminescence occurs in water, which gave the general name of the species. The edges of the cylindrical tunic develop in the thickness of sea water, which gives the sea inhabitant unusual and mysterious.
5
Spirobranchus giganteus
In the tropical warm seas of the oceans, a multi-bristle worm lives, which is called the “Christmas Tree” due to its unusual appearance.
According to most-beauty.ru, this is the most beautiful worm on the planet. Their tentacles with bristles are twisted into intricate spirals. These spirals are the highly developed respiratory system of a charming worm.
They lead a sedentary lifestyle, creating calcareous tubes in the recesses of corals. It turns out a kind of symbiosis. With its appearance, Spirobranchus Giganteus drives away not only its enemies, but also starfish eating coral.
6
Sabellestarte cf. sanctijosephi
It's hard to believe, but this wonderful creature is also a worm, also called the Blueberry worm. Trumpet worms in their appearance resemble the feathers of tropical birds.
On a coral of sand and mucus, the worm constructs a pipe in which it lives. On the surface there is only a head with a pair of branched gills. In addition to the respiratory, these beautiful gills also perform a nutritional function.
At the time of danger, the worm completely hides in the tube. Depending on the habitat, they acquire a different color.
7
Hermodice carunculata
The picturesque inhabitants of the warm seas belong to the class of polychaete worms. Their entire bright orange body is covered with white bristles, giving them an unusual look.
Hermodice carunculata grow up to 10 cm long, and the hollow setae are filled with poison. These beautiful marine life are dangerous predators that feed on corals.
Skin contact can cause severe burns. In the mating season, slow creatures rise to the surface of the water, and females, in order to attract males, begin a greenish glow.
8
Pseudoceros indicus
A new type of pseudocerotid flatworm was discovered in 2002, although the first representatives of the Turbellaria class were described at the end of the 19th century.
They live in the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean. Most often found off the coast of the islands of Micronesia. Small colonies are also found in some regions of the Indian Ocean. They live on coral reefs. Adults grow from 7 to 9 cm in length.
Like most relatives are hermaphrodites. A miniature adult hatch from an egg.
Fancy worms
From beautiful worms we turn to the unusual representatives of the kingdom of worms, which amaze with their behavior and appearance.
9
Lanceolate
A small flat parasitic worm will grow no more than 0.4-1.2 cm, and a complex life cycle takes place in its development.
They parasitize in the liver of livestock, infecting it with dicroceliosis. An intermediate phase of development takes place on snails. But the fluke is unusual in that it can control the behavior of ants.
Once in the ant’s brain, with the onset of night, they reduce its instinct for returning to the ant hill. The ant hangs limply on a blade of grass, and at dawn is eaten by a cow or other grazing animal. If the ant remained alive in the morning, the parasite reduces the effect, and the ant spends a normal day. But in the evening everything is repeated anew, until someone eats a poor ant.
10
Myrmeconema neotropicum
Hardworking ants fall prey to another flat parasite from the Tetradonematidae family. The worms themselves do not exceed 1 mm in length.
The sole owner is the ant Cephalotes atratus, which lives in South America. After infection, the back of the ant’s body increases in size and turns red, resembling a ripe berry.
Such a vivid image attracts birds, and they easily find ants in the forest thickets. Birds eat ants, and then the eggs of the worm, together with the feces of birds, again fall to the surface of the earth, eaten by ants, and the development cycle closes.
11
Spinochordodes tellinii
The larvae of this nematomorphic worm, related to the hairs, develop in the body of grasshoppers and crickets. These parasites cause their infected hosts to commit suicide.
Adult Spinochordodes tellinii live in the water and then, along with the infected water, enter the body of the grasshopper. The insect's nervous system is affected, and under the influence of the parasite, the grasshoppers jump into the water and drown.
After this, the worms leave the body of the “suicide” insect, and the life cycle of the worm’s development is repeated anew.
12
Bipalium
These predatory worms surprise not only with their behavior, but also with the original body structure. It is distinguished from other species by a hammer-shaped powerful head, which is why they are called "hammer worms."
They grow up to 40 cm, and eat earthworms, insects and snails. During hunting, they use the strongest poison, which in large doses affects the respiratory system.
Eating earthworms, they cause irreparable harm to agriculture. Until now, Asia was considered the habitat of crawling predators, but recently dangerous worms have been discovered in the vastness of European countries.
13
Euhaplorchis californiensis
An unusual flatworm lives in the warm marshy places of the state of California. During the period of life development, it changes three owners. These include birds, snails, and small killifish fish.
Development begins in the body of snails. The worm produces new offspring in the cavity of the snails, after which it attaches to the gills of the fish, changing its usual behavior. The fish begins to perform a strange dance, jumping out of the water, and becoming easy prey for coastal birds.
Infected birds lay their eggs, and after the appearance of chicks, snails eat the shell. And it all starts again.
14
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
We conclude the story with a worm that does not push the victim into the mouth of a predator, but, on the contrary, causes its rejection in predators.
A tiny worm, falling into an insect larva, changes its color to a bright red color. The parasite lives and feeds at the expense of its owner, so it is not beneficial for it to eat the larva.
Red discourages natural enemies, and birds prefer not to eat red larvae. Scientific studies have shown that robins, for example, do not eat red insects at all. So the parasite saves the offspring of the insect.
Do not miss, there is an informative article on the most unusual insects on our site most-beauty.ru.
Summary
So our story came to an end. From it we learned that, in addition to the usual earthworms, in the world there are a large number of amazing creatures, united under the general name of worms. Many of them have an incredibly beautiful appearance, and many, although small, can control the behavior of animals, fish and insects.
Posted by Valery Skiba