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Project Noah Nature School
Bipalium kewense
The hammerhead flatworm can reach up to 20 inches long and its body is very slimy, which allows it to move along the ground in a gliding motion. The body secretes mucus from glands on its belly or underside. The hammerhead is native to Indo-China, but it makes its way around the world by traveling in greenhouse plants. For the most part, hammerhead flatworms can survive just about anywhere, so no one region is 100% safe. While this unique worm can survive in scorching hot to freezing climates, they may suffer somewhat in drier regions. They actually kill and eat earthworms, exclusively. The hammerhead flatworm is considered a parasite and it devours its only prey by pushing its throat outside if its mouth and snapping up any part of the earthworms body. It melts the earthworms body with an enzyme and slowly eats it until the earthworm is completely consumed.
Any moist place, usually emerging at night.
Spotted on Apr 15, 2011
Submitted on Apr 15, 2011
2 Comments
I've seen brown ones with a black stripe in my garden, but this was almost orange I was amazed at it! Who is tracking them? Being it's on here everyone can see where I found it.
I've found a lot of these upstate when looking for salamanders. There's a professor at SUNY Cortland who is (or was) tracking the distribution of this invasive in NY.