Hammerhead Worm in Singapore: What Is It? Is It Dangerous?
Wandering hammerhead worm I found this hammerhead worm on a walk along Old Upper Thomson Road. It looks like something from a science-fiction film, but it’s a real animal, and it’s more common in Singapore than most people think. What is a hammerhead worm? It’s a land planarian: a free-living flatworm in the subfamily Bipaliinae. The group is named for its half-moon-shaped head, and the subfamily is found mainly in Southeast Asia, Australasia and Africa. It isn’t an earthworm, and it isn’t related to one. etawau eecc How big do they get? The Bipalium group are giants among land planarians, and some can grow longer than 20 cm. jcu What does it eat? They’re predators. Some prey on earthworms, and others also feed on molluscs. The head carries chemical sensors, which let the worm pick up an earthworm’s mucus trail and follow it. cavac etawau Is it dangerous? To people, the real risk is small, but treat it with respect. In 2014, researchers confirmed tetrodotoxin, th...