“And today were talking about something that’s not real velvet but it is a real worm. It is actual worm. It lives like a worm.”
A wanderer in the undergrowth, glides along the leaf litter, searching for prey to tuck into the cradle of decay. This plush creature hides a secret silk used to knit gossamer snares. If you’re caught in its trap, the dreams it weaves will never end. Forever lost to the velvet worm’s forest floor domain. Each falling leaf, a stone added to the cairn above your grave in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Description
- Looks like a caterpillar and a slug had a child that was one of those watch it grow in water
- Elongated, soft body with a velvety texture that makes you want to touch it so bad but also never touch it as long as you live.
- Colors range from dark slate to reddish-brown, often with a snazzy darker stripe down the back
- Sports 25 pairs of stubby, claw-tipped legs
- Two big antennae up front
- Simple eyes that are more for getting the gist of things rather than high-def vision
- No fur or chitinous hair, just smooth, hydrophobic skin that laughs at water
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com.
Earthworm Jim Says EAT DIRT!!! [Complete Compilation]
Length of the Velvet Worm
The velvet worm has a length of 5 cm (1.97 inches). How many velvet worms, laid end to end, fit into the length of these Caribbean objects?
Question: How many velvet worms fit into each object’s length?
A) 4.6 go into the length of a Caribbean spiny lobster claw
B) 3.8 go into the height of a Taíno zemi figurine
C) 1.5 go into the length of a Jamaican anole lizard
a) The length of a Caribbean spiny lobster claw
The Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), common in Caribbean reefs, has a large claw (part of its antenna base) measuring about 15 cm (5.91 inches) for a mature individual.
b) The height of a Taíno zemi figurine
A zemi figurine, a carved religious artifact from the Taíno culture of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, typically stands about 25 cm (9.84 inches) tall for a medium-sized ceremonial piece.
c) The length of a Jamaican anole lizard
The Jamaican gray anole (Anolis lineatopus), a common Caribbean lizard, has a body length of about 7.5 cm (2.95 inches), excluding the tail, for a large male.
Weight of the Velvet Worm
The velvet worm weighs 2 grams (0.002 kg). How many velvet worms fit into the weight of these Caribbean objects?
Question: How many velvet worms fit into each object’s weight?
A) 30 go into the weight of a Carib grackle
B) 4 go into the weight of a Barbados cherry
C) 425 go into the weight of a Caribs’ canoe paddle
a) The weight of a Carib grackle
The Carib grackle (Quiscalus lugubris), a bird native to the Lesser Antilles, weighs about 60 grams (0.06 kg) for an adult male.
b) The weight of a Barbados cherry
The Barbados cherry (Malpighia emarginata), a fruit grown across the Caribbean, weighs about 5 grams (0.005 kg) per large fruit.
c) The weight of a Caribs’ canoe paddle
A traditional Carib (Kalinago) canoe paddle, carved from hardwood in Dominica or St. Vincent, weighs about 1 kg (1,000 grams) for a standard adult paddle.
Fast Facts
- Range: Found chilling on the Caribbean island of Dominica, probably sipping tiny piña coladas.
- Habitat: Hangs out in damp, dark spots like leaf litter, under rocks, or in rotting logs, because dry places are their kryptonite.
- Mating Behavior: Males drop a spermatophore on the female’s body, which she absorbs through her skin in a process that’s equal parts weird and efficient.
- Diet: Carnivorous, munching on small invertebrates like insects and spiders, which they turn into a nutritious soup with their saliva.
- Hunting Behavior: Nocturnal predators that stalk the forest floor, using their antennae to sniff out prey
- Lifespan: Can live up to 5 years
- Social Behavior: Mostly solitary, but sometimes thousands gather in a rotting log like it’s the velvet worm version of Coachella.
- Predators: Birds, small mammals, and larger insects might try to snack on them, but they may have some
Major Fact: Hot Glue Gun
Velvet worms, belonging to the phylum Onychophora, possess a remarkable and highly specialized ability to spray a sticky, glue-like substance as a primary mechanism for hunting and defense. This is often called “slime-shooting”
Mechanism of the Sticky Glue Ability
Velvet worms eject their sticky substance from a pair of specialized glands located near their mouth, known as slime glands or oral papillae. These glands are connected to muscular ducts that allow the worms to forcefully expel the adhesive fluid with precision.
Ejection Process: When a velvet worm detects prey (or a threat), it contracts the muscles surrounding the slime glands, propelling the fluid through the oral papillae. The worms can aim the spray by orienting their head, oscillating it to create a net-like pattern that maximizes coverage.
Range and Accuracy: The slime can be projected up to 30 cm (about 12 inches) in some species, an impressive distance relative to the worm’s body length (typically 1–10 cm).
Hardening: Upon contact with air, the slime rapidly hardens, transforming from a liquid to a tacky, elastic adhesive. Magic shell ice cream sauce.
The slime is ejected conservatively, allowing velvet worms to conserve their adhesive reserves.
Composition of the Sticky Glue
The adhesive slime is a complex, protein-based fluid with unique biomechanical properties. Research into its composition was done particularly in species like Euperipatoides rowelli.
Protein Content: The slime is primarily composed of proteins, including fibrous proteins similar to those found in spider silk, which contribute to its tensile strength and elasticity. These proteins form a matrix that gives the slime its sticky and stretchy qualities.
Water-Based Solution: The fluid is water-based, which allows it to be expelled as a liquid but dry quickly upon exposure to air. The evaporation of water triggers the hardening process, creating a durable adhesive.
Enzymes and Other Compounds: The slime may contain enzymes or other chemical components that enhance its adhesive properties or aid in prey immobilization. The exact composition varies slightly among species.
The slime’s stickiness is comparable to industrial adhesives, and its rapid hardening makes it an effective tool for capturing fast-moving prey. Interestingly, velvet worms can consume any leftover slime after feeding, recycling the proteins and conserving resources.
Ecological Role and Function
The sticky glue serves two primary functions: predation and defense. Its ecological significance is central to the velvet worm’s survival in their humid, tropical, and subtropical habitats.
Predation
- Hunting Strategy: Velvet worms are nocturnal predators that rely on stealth and their slime to capture prey, such as insects, spiders, and small invertebrates. The sticky spray immobilizes prey, allowing the worm to approach and inject digestive enzymes through its mandibles, breaking down the prey’s tissues for consumption.
- Efficiency: The slime’s net-like pattern increases the likelihood of ensnaring multiple prey items or covering a larger area, making it an efficient tool for small, slow-moving predators like velvet worms.
- Prey Diversity: The adhesive is versatile, capable of trapping a wide range of prey sizes, from tiny mites to larger beetles, depending on the worm’s size and species.
Defense
- Protection Against Threats: When threatened by predators (e.g., birds, reptiles, or larger arthropods), velvet worms can deploy their slime to deter or entangle attackers. The sticky substance may clog the mouthparts or limbs of predators, giving the worm time to escape.
- Non-Lethal Deterrence: The slime is not toxic, but its adhesive properties and rapid hardening make it an effective deterrent, discouraging predators from pursuing the worm.
Scientific and Practical Interest
The velvet worm’s sticky glue has attracted attention from researchers and engineers due to its potential applications:
- Biomimicry: The adhesive’s strength, rapid hardening, and biodegradability make it a model for developing eco-friendly glues or medical adhesives. Studies on the slime’s protein structure aim to replicate its properties in synthetic materials.
- Evolutionary Insights: The slime glands are a key feature linking velvet worms to their arthropod relatives, providing clues about the evolution of adhesive mechanisms in invertebrates. Comparative studies with spider silk or hagfish slime highlight convergent evolution in adhesive strategies.
- Behavioral Studies: The precise control of slime ejection offers insights into the neuromuscular coordination of velvet worms, a topic of interest in neurobiology.
Ending: So stay velvety, place your spermataphores wisely, and paint your enemies with glue like the velvet worm here in LDT.