Difference between revisions of "Karst Worm"
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[[File: | [[File:Karst_worm.png|thumb|right|100x|Karst Worm - "Sebastian Romu" © 2019]] | ||
==About== | ==About== | ||
;Common Names:Karst Worm | ;Common Names:Karst Worm | ||
Latest revision as of 18:40, 19 October 2022
About
- Common Names
- Karst Worm
- Classification
- Other
- Karst worms are not actual worms, but supermassive colonial organisms which line the interior walls of caves systems forming network of tunnels leading to one or more stomach chambers.
Description
- Size
- Can be several kilometers in total length, as they grow to fill the available network of caves they inhabit.
- Appearance
- They appear to be living mineral caves, with features similar to many limestone caves with flowing or seeping water. Stony grey-brown, slightly moist and pebbled appearance to the inner surfaces. Acidic pools in lower chambers. The similarity to the rock strata they occupy makes it difficult to determine where the cave ends and the actual worm begins.
- Variance
- Larval karst worms appear as giant translucent amoebas, and are freely mobile.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Limestone cave systems, and underground aquafers. Where the cave ends and the karst worm begins is difficult to say.
- Diet
- Karst worms will digest and absorb any organic matter that finds its way into the pools of digestive acid and enzymes they secrete.
Behaviour
- Social Grouping
- Solitary
- Temperament
- Oblivious, Although they do react to pressure, by slowly constricting passages which may force prey deeper into their interior.
- Intelligence
- Negligible
- Reproduction
- Karst worms can reproduce asexually by spawning a number of larva into local underground water sources they are in contact with. They also reproduce through fragmentation, should more distant parts of a worm be separated from the primary mass through cave-ins, or other methods.
- Feeding
- Karst worms are sensitive to pressure, and will slowly constrict passages behind prey that wander inside. This action may block passages for larger animals, forcing such prey to descend deeper and deeper in search of alternate exits. Gradually potential prey is herded into slippery walled chambers with the digestion pool lining the floor.
- Hunting
- Larval karst worms actively hunt prey as submerged aquatic ambush predators using pseudo pods to ensnare prey which is dragged back and engulfed whole for digestion.
Domestication
- General
- None
- Resources
- The digestion pools of karst worms contain strong acids which can dissolve almost any material.
