Worms and Things

I collect all sorts of things and my favourite being books, but I also like useless information that is rather interesting.

When I first saw this article in the JP a while ago I laughed at first but then realised it was quite fascinating. Actually it made me recall a few times on my travels when I had come in contact with these creatures that slither, crawl and have a distinct like to human flesh.

A decade or so ago I remember climbing back up the steps at Git-Git Falls in northern Bali and as it was raining the steps were quite slippery besides being steep. I misjudged a step and went flat on my bum. As I went to stand up using my hand as leverage, a slender and very silky green snake slid over my hand. Most people would freak and run till their pants were full but I froze. It wasn't until I relayed the tale to a Zoologist friend of mine did I realise these little buggas were dangerous and highly venomous!.

I had occasion to met one of these fellas a year later when climbing a mountain in Central Java.

Leeches I hate and ever since I watched the movie The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart. Oops, showing my age here!. I have this habit of walking off the beaten track so to speak and at one time in northern Sumatra a bunch of us were trekking though the jungle. The jungle became so dense that the only way around it was to go into the river and walk upstream. That was cool for a couple of kilometres. When we finally got out of the water I found al these slender black things having a feast on my legs. Ouch!.

Of course there are many more incidents but I won't bore you with them. Instead have a read of some useless facts about things that slither and crawl.

Worming a way through life

Image being so ravenous that you would literally eat yourself, or both you and your partner being fertilized during a hot steamy night. The world of creepy-crawlies can be a source of wonder.

Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9 meters.

Some ribbon worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food.

A leech is a worm that feeds on blood. It will pierce its victim's skin, fill itself with three to four times its own body weight in blood and will not feed again for months. Leeches were once used by doctors to drain "bad blood" from sick patients.

After snails mate, they both lay eggs.

Snails produce a colourless,, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.

A snail takes 33 hours to crawl one and a half kilometres.

Snails can sleep for three years.

Slugs have four noses.

Snakes are immune to their own poison.

Most snakes have either only one lung or in some cases two with one much smaller than the other. This serves to make room for other organs in their elongated bodies.

Snakes can't blink.

The anaconda, one of the world's largest snakes, gives birth to its young instead of laying eggs.

Iguanas, koalas and Komodo dragons all appear to have two penises. In reality they have a single penis but it is split in two. Snakes also share this feature. The dual penis is for ease of left-handed or right-handed mating.

An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.

A chameleon can move its eyes in two directions at the same time.

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

The chameleon has several cell layers beneath its transparent skin. These layers are the source of the chameleon's colour change. Some of the layers contain pigments while others just reflect light to create new colours. Several factors contribute to the colour change. A popular misconception is that chameleons change colour to match their environment. What actually happens is that light, temperature and emotional state commonly bring about a chameleon's change in colour. The chameleon will most often change between green, brown and grey, which often matches the background colours of their habitat.