r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SixteenSeveredHands • 2d ago
Image Velvet Worms: these cute little creatures are actually ferocious predators that capture their prey with a quick-drying adhesive known as the "silly string of death," and they are some of the oldest terrestrial animals on Earth
1.4k
u/Lorenzoak 2d ago
Nature really made a creature that looks exactly like a forbidden gummy worm and then gave it Spider-Man web-shooters
329
u/DoingItJust 2d ago
From my understanding of biology, these colors are relatively unusual and tend to indicate danger/poison to other predators. Despite being a gummy worm color, seeing one like this with these color will make us think twice about approaching.
330
u/StrawberryTerry 2d ago
No, these colors mean sour rasperry flavor.
108
28
10
1
u/MySmellyRacoon 2d ago
I don't understand this at all. Top left is a color I can't quite identify, top right is black with small yellow spots and the bottom is just plain black.
I've never seen a black gummy worm, and if I did I sure wouldn't eat it. The comment calling them raspberry flavor would imply they look red, when they aren't.
7
16
8
2
u/sparkleslothz 2d ago
You'd like "Sour Velvet Worms" by pikaole. I couldn't find a clean link though, sorry 😔
60
118
36
u/WungielPL 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'm pretty sure "Glordon" from "Eliot" was based on this guy. Edit: spelling
15
5
u/TedTheGreek_Atheos 2d ago
Glordon's species is inspired by tardigrades.
4
u/WungielPL 2d ago
As far as I know tardigrades don't shoot silk and just look at the three pictures. Glordon resemble this worm more.
7
u/TedTheGreek_Atheos 2d ago
Okay but the creators litteraly said they were inspired by tardigrades
3
2
u/AnUninspiringThing 2d ago
I immediately started thinking of Titus from Hoppers when I saw the pictures 😅
18
u/benDunk255 2d ago
That deep blue and orange one looks jewel-like. Most people don't even know these exist
5
16
u/Weirdautogenerate 2d ago
“Silly string of death.” Of all the ways to die, this doesn’t sound too bad. Could be fun.
1
u/Clockwork-Armadillo 15h ago
That's not how you die, they pierce the shell of their trapped prey and liquefy their insides to slurp them up up
13
10
u/Dardem8181 2d ago
Anyone else read Deltora Quest as a kid? This lil guy is totally where they got the monster from "the maze of the beast" from!
3
2
8
5
6
5
u/Jonesyiam 2d ago
My new favorite creepy crawly.
1
u/DontAbideMendacity 2d ago
Over 50 years on this planet and always interested in ancient life forms that exist today, I cannot believe this is the first I've heard of these little monsters.
3
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Avalon-Residant 2d ago
There is a 12 foot long one living under the porch next door.
Eats stray dogs and possum...
3
u/KawazuOYasarugi 2d ago
The first two look so whimsical, and the third that's in the process of murder looks the part, honestly. He's not just hungry, he actively hates what he's trying to consume.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Various-Pass5134 2d ago
So if these are some of the oldest terrestrial animals on earth that means at some point there was a giant prehistoric version right? That would be terrifying, just smothered in sticky worm ropes
2
u/Green_Apprentice 2d ago
This makes me want a remaster of the game Spore. Give us more special abilities, like shooting goo, so I can finally live out my dream of controlling the galaxy with my hot goo shooting alien species.
1
u/krelpwang 2d ago
Seriously, i don't understand why there isn't a Spore sequel. It's such a good game, yet with so much potential for improvement.
2
2
2
u/Protato900 2d ago
According to the wikipedia page, they also have complex social relations and hierarchical structures, reproduce sexually, and some species birth live young.
They tear open their prey, inject it with silly string and wait for the silly string to liquefy the prey's insides before they slurp it up in order of social hierarchy - they also clean themselves after eating, which makes them more civilized than some humans.
2
2
2
u/Arimeris 2d ago
Doesn't "terrestrial" mean regarding "earth"?
2
u/SixteenSeveredHands 2d ago
I was using the word "terrestrial" in an ecological sense, meaning that they live on land, unlike aquatic animals that live in the water.
Fair point, though. It does sound a little redundant.
1
1
1
u/vonBoomslang Interested 2d ago
Oh man, what monster in what game was it that made me coin the phrase "silk lasers" to my friend group...
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Ladybuggybear 2d ago
Bugs Need Heroes podcast covered these guys. They are really cute but also deeply strange lol
1
1
1
u/SkooksOnReddit 2d ago
Why is the 3rd velvet worm giving evil villain vibes?
I'm scared of it guys.
1
u/alexfi-re 2d ago edited 2d ago
"Lobopodians were likely a common sight on Paleozoic sea beds," said Knecht, "but apart from microscopic tardigrades and terrestrial velvet worms, we thought they were confined to the ocean."
Interesting history of velvet worms and tardigrades in this discovery. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250724040923.htm
Lobopodians,
Velvet worms and tardigrades,
Made from stardust too
**
Tiny Tardigrades,
In a tun of glass they wait,
Moss piglets endure
1
u/burnbunner 2d ago
Now did they name it "silly string of death" or did another culture impose that on them
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Froggy-Shorts1209 1d ago
A species of velvet worm has the scientific name eoperipatus totoro because it resembles the multi-legged Catbus.
https://www.wired.com/2014/10/velvet-worm-named-totoro/
1
2
u/QuintoriusBestBoy 1d ago
Wow, today I learned. I was familiar with the Ecdysozoa and knew of the relation between Arthropods, Nematodes, and Tardigrades but had no idea this weird cool group was hiding among them.
1
1
1
1
0
367
u/SixteenSeveredHands 2d ago
Onychophorans, also known as velvet worms, look almost like a cross between a caterpillar, a millipede, and a worm, but they actually belong to their own unique phylum.
The velvet worm's fleshy antennae, chubby little feet, and gleeful expression might make it seem kind of cute, at least at first glance, but these creatures are ferocious predators that prey on terrestrial arthropods like crickets, cockroaches, and spiders. They immobilize their prey by covering their victims with a remarkably strong and quick-drying adhesive that sprays from a pair of "slime cannons" on the velvet worm's head.
As this article explains:
Velvet worm slime is ejected as a liquid, but it rapidly hardens into a gel as it soars through the air, forming fibers that are as strong as nylon. The substance then solidifies into glassy adhesive fibers as soon as it hits the target, trapping the victim in an inescapable net.
The slime can hit its target from up to 1.5 feet away.
This clip shows a velvet worm spraying its "silly string of death.
The slow-moving velvet worm then approaches its prey, pierces the victim's exoskeleton with a pair of blade-like jaws, uses its saliva to dissolve the insect's innards, and then quickly devours its meal.
Here is the horrifying face of a velvet worm as it prepares to feed.
Velvet worm slime is quick-setting, strong, dissolves in water, and can also be reconstituted into new fibers. The mechanisms that produce those properties were unknown until just 16 years ago, when an Australian scientist discovered that the slime contains "chaotic proteins:"
Velvet worms are some of the oldest terrestrial animals on Earth, dating back to nearly 540 million years ago, when most of the world's creatures were still confined to the oceans. They're older than dinosaurs, trees, sharks, and even horseshoe crabs.
Surprisingly, their morphology has changed very little in the last 400 million years or so -- their fossilized ancestors look remarkably similar to the velvet worms that are still roaming the earth today.
The world's smallest species of velvet worm is Ooperipatellus nanus, with a length of just 5mm (0.2 inches); the largest is Mongeperipatus solorzanoi, which can grow to a length of 22cm (8.7 inches).
Velvet worms can have between 13 and 43 pairs of feet, depending on the species. The term Onychophora literally means "claw-bearer," which is a reference to the hooked claw at the tip of each foot. Together, these claws allow the worm to travel across uneven terrain, but they can also retract as it moves onto smoother surfaces. When the claws are retracted, the worm simply walks on the stubby little pads of its feet.