#proboscis worm

Common Atlantic Ribbon Worm (Tubulanus polymorphus)

Family: Tubulanus Family (Tubulanidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Like other ribbon worms, this brightly coloured marine worm has a relatively long but extremely thin unsegmented body, and is an active predator; after locating prey using a set of chemical-sensing pits on its head it extends a sticky, flexible, tube-like appendage known as a proboscis (although unlike the proboscises of some insects this structure is separate from their digestive system) from just above its mouth, ensnaring prey and injecting it with paralysing venom. After prey (mainly smaller marine invertebrates, especially other worms) has been subdued the proboscis either passes it into a simple mouth or, if its too large to be swallowed whole, secretes fluids that break food down externally to accommodate for the worm's lack of an ability to chew.

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Gorgonorhynchus, the noble and beautiful and pretty-in-pink proboscis worm! Shown here using its amazing branched proboscis to bravely tackle some kind of little ragworm.

“Terrestrial Ribbon Worm” © Melvyn Yeo, accessed at his deviantArt gallery here.

[I love nemerteans. They’re some of my favorite animals, combining cuteness (lookit those little eyes!) and grossness in equal measure. They might include the longest animals on the planet, but it’s hard to tell, since they can distort their own body shape so extensively and they do not preserve well. I was originally intending this to be a marine version, but the best picture I found was of a terrestrial one, seen above.

And if you haven’t seen the clip from BBC’s Life of scavenging nemerteans and sea stars on the ocean floor near Antarctica, you owe it to yourself to check it out here. It’s one of my favorite pieces of natural history film. Although warning, it is gross.]

Proboscis Worm, Giant CR 11 N Vermin This long, lean worm is translucent and has a tiny head, with mere dots for eyes. Horrifically, it opens its mouth and a tentacle as long as its body fires out, tipped with a harpoon.

Giant proboscis worms look harmless, perhaps even cute, but their bodies contain a potent array of physical and chemical weapons. They ooze an acidic slime that burns the flesh of creatures that touch them, and their venomous stings paralyze the muscles and eventually the diaphragm, leading to death by suffocation. The proboscis for which they are named does not open directly into the mouth, instead growing over it—witnesses have likened its feeding, by skewering prey and lowering it into the mouth, as something like a carnivorous elephant.

Aquatic giant proboscis worms also exist—treat them as above, but give them the aquatic subtype, and a swim speed of 60 feet instead of their climb speed. Some variant proboscis worms lack a venomous sting, instead spewing their prey with a mess of sticky tendrils that entangle and inject venom at the same time.

A giant proboscis worm is normally about ten feet long and as thick around as a man’s calf, but can double its length and halve its width as it wills. Its proboscis is as long as its body is, kept tucked inside and compressed through muscular action when not in use.

Giant Proboscis Worms as Vermin Companions Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 30 ft. climb 30 ft.; AC +3 natural armor; Attack sting (1d6 plus poison); Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 15, Con 14, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 10; Special Attacks poison (sting, 1d2 Dex, Con based DC); Special Qualities acidic slime (1d6, Con based DC, defensive only), resist acid 5, scent

7th-Level Advancement: Size Medium;  AC +4 natural armor; Attack sting (1d8 plus poison), slam (1d6 plus grab and acidic slime); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex +4, Con +4; Special Attacks constrict (1d6 plus acidic slime), poison (1d3 Dex, suffocation when 0 Dex reached, Con-based DC); Special Qualities acidic slime (1d8, Con based DC, offensive and defensive), resist acid 10

The Proboscis Worm’s Mouth of Horrors Science Channel

Outrageous Acts Wednesdays 9/8c on Science Channel

The Proboscis Worm’s Mouth of Horrors

Is this worm something from Earth or outer space? Check out what our biologists have to say about the creepy, but fascinating proboscis worm.

Don’t miss new episodes of OUTRAGEOUS ACTS OF SCIENCE Saturdays at 9/8c on Science: http://science.discovery.com/tv-shows/outrageous-acts-of-science

Watch full episodes: http://bit.ly/Outrageou…