Bipalium+kewense

Bipalium kewense



//** Kingdom: Animalia **// //** Phylum: Platyhelminthes **// //** Class: Turbellaria **// //** Order: Tricladida **// //** Family: Geoplanidae **// //** Genus: Bipalium **// //** Species: Bipalium kewense **//

Nicknamed the "hammerhead worm", Bipalium kewense is different compared to most other flat worms. It is one of the only type of flatworms that live on land and not in the water. They have a layer of mucus covering its body to prevent it from losing too much water to the environment.

Habitat: These worms grow up to 10 in long and live in temperate and tropical areas all over the world.



Nutrition: The hammerhead worm are predators. This species of hammerhead Bipalium kewense is a hazard to farmers because they prey only on earthworms, unless food is scarce they will turn to cannibalism. They follow trails left behind by earthworms in the soil. When the prey is caught, the hammerhead worm wrap around it, mucus is secreted to immobilize it. The worm then sticks out its pharynx and sucks out the body fluid of the prey.



Reproduction: They asexually reproduce by chipping off about 1cm of its tail to let it regenerate into a new worm. Because they can easily be cut or split, they reproduce extremely quickly.

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