This time, I’m kind of glad this species has only been featured here once, never found again after the first discovery back in 2020; both their appearance and their habits are less than adorable. So of course I’m going to bring them up again.
This, found on the surface of the soil alongside the backyard pond right here at Walkabout Estates, is a shovel-headed flatworm (Bipalium kewense,) a planaria that feeds on earthworms, also an invasive species, so a double threat. Plus it can stretch out a ridiculous amount, over 20cm as I witnessed, and is sticky as hell to boot. If anyone has this as one of their favorite species, I don’t want to know about it.
Given the appearance and location found, I was initially inclined to consider it some kind of leech, but it’s no relation. Whether you consider it better or worse is up to you, but don’t pass judgment until you hear the next bit.
I took these two photos to try and capture images of the mouth, but I was going about it all wrong, because this isn’t the ‘head’ per se, and the mouth is actually in midbody, doing double-duty as the anus too – comparisons to certain distinct politicians cannot be avoided. And yet, not satisfied with this impression, the flatworm everts its pharynx onto its prey, bathing them in digestive juices to dissolve and consume them that way.
And their organs are toxic, so not even birds are going to eat them. You get the impression that someone suggested having a redeeming trait to try and achieve a little balance, and the flatworm responded with a sexually-explicit profanity and went all-out in defiance. Where is your god now, eh?
I admit that I obtained all of this information after the photo session, which is typical because then I have visual details that I can refer to for identification without, like, digging in a jar or something. Had I identified it earlier, however, I might actually have collected an earthworm just to see if I could capture this feeding behavior – I know, but it’s better to be forewarned before you actually meet me. At least take heart that after the photos, this specimen was repeatedly dismembered (despite having no members at all) because we really don’t need any of them around. And now you know that you should probably check the tags at the bottom of any posts before you click to play any videos…