Strange ‘alien life form’..?

nivek

As Above So Below
This is kind of weird but could be a strange worm type?...


Strange ‘alien life form’ spotted crawling across rocks in Taiwan


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FOOTAGE of an ‘alien life form’ crawling along the ground has left witnesses searching for answers of what it might be.

Huang Meilan filmed the mysterious insect after it was seen creeping around rocks in Hsinchu, Taiwan on August 29.

She said she was shocked because she had never witnessed anything like that before in her life.

‘I found this on the ground and it caught my eye,” she told The Mirror.

“It was so strange and people said different things about it. But I wanted to know what it actually was.’’

When asking the internet for advice, Ms Meilan said many people suggested the brittle looking creature was likely several ‘’horsehair worms’’ tangled together — a common sight because the parasitic creatures become entwined while they use a host to breed.

However, at least one commenter believed the creature was proof of alien life.

‘’It could be a new creature made from a genetic mutation that we’ve never seen before,” she said.

“It’s a bit freaky watching it, it looks like an alien life form that has got lost on earth.’’

Alien life spotted crawling along the ground
 

ImmortalLegend527

The Messenger Of All Gods old and new
Never seen that before, I don't even know what it is and that's very unusual.In those parts of the world, alot of new species will be found as evolution continues to and will never stop no matter what.
 

michael59

Celestial
My first thought is metal wires coated in plastic & a magnet. :unknown: My second thought was the same as SOUL-DRIFTER., wish it was longer.

Edited to add: Was someone trying to feed it a pea?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
I searched but could not find a longer video of this...
 

Merle

Honorable
I wonder if it's a dark coloured Nematomorpha (yes, I did have to look the spelling up), a Horsehair worm (over 100 species of them) tangled in some weeds or whatever? It's movements to me seem as if it's trying to detach itself from whatever it is... like if you see a worm or a stick insect or something stuck in a spider web trying to get away from it..... video clip is too short to really see properly...

Horsehair worms (they aslo have some other common name which eludes me), in the odd extreme case and depending which species, are known to grow up to about 4 feet and can be quite narrow in diameter and either dark coloured or pale coloured... They live around freshwater and eat crustaceans, beetles, cockroaches, centipedes, grasshoppers and stuff like that....

They're parasitic and attach themselves to whatever critter they are wanting to eat... I would think that if one attached itself to the back of say for example a prawn (shrimp), the worm then gets dragged around by the shrimp swimming around trying to get away from the worm ....... and if the shrimp swims through or close by some weeds or a tangle of very fine sticks or whatever, the worm could possibly get tangled in them and drag some of the loose ones along with it until the sherimp dies and stops struggling to get away...
 
I wonder if it's a dark coloured Nematomorpha (yes, I did have to look the spelling up), a Horsehair worm (over 100 species of them) tangled in some weeds or whatever? It's movements to me seem as if it's trying to detach itself from whatever it is... like if you see a worm or a stick insect or something stuck in a spider web trying to get away from it..... video clip is too short to really see properly...

Horsehair worms (they aslo have some other common name which eludes me), in the odd extreme case and depending which species, are known to grow up to about 4 feet and can be quite narrow in diameter and either dark coloured or pale coloured... They live around freshwater and eat crustaceans, beetles, cockroaches, centipedes, grasshoppers and stuff like that....

They're parasitic and attach themselves to whatever critter they are wanting to eat... I would think that if one attached itself to the back of say for example a prawn (shrimp), the worm then gets dragged around by the shrimp swimming around trying to get away from the worm ....... and if the shrimp swims through or close by some weeds or a tangle of very fine sticks or whatever, the worm could possibly get tangled in them and drag some of the loose ones along with it until the sherimp dies and stops struggling to get away...
I was trying to see if anything is tangled but it's really hard to tell. Sure is a pretty interesting species if it's unique in nature hopefully more information surfaces
 

Merle

Honorable
The other common name beside Horsehair Worm for Nematomorpha (Nematode) I was looking for is Gordian Worm (after the legendary gordian knot)... Apparently the tangled mess is one of it's common states to be in... They seem to be fairly common and found mostly in freshwater.

I wasn't quite accurate earlier. They use a critter not just for feeding, but similar like tapeworms, being the parasitic worm they are, use it for their development as well. Once they have developed and want out, in their case, they 'force' their host to commit suicide so they can then come out in relative peace... Anyway, I found plenty enough similar pictures and here's another video, this time with a cricket...

Here's a more scientific explanation (from 2014) for those interested:

Absurd Creature of the Week: The Parasitic Worm That Turns Crickets Into Suicidal Maniacs

A nasty looking video where instead of leaving the poor thing alone they just had to torch it...

 

SOUL-DRIFTER

Life Long Researcher
I wonder if it's a dark coloured Nematomorpha (yes, I did have to look the spelling up), a Horsehair worm (over 100 species of them) tangled in some weeds or whatever? It's movements to me seem as if it's trying to detach itself from whatever it is... like if you see a worm or a stick insect or something stuck in a spider web trying to get away from it..... video clip is too short to really see properly...

Horsehair worms (they aslo have some other common name which eludes me), in the odd extreme case and depending which species, are known to grow up to about 4 feet and can be quite narrow in diameter and either dark coloured or pale coloured... They live around freshwater and eat crustaceans, beetles, cockroaches, centipedes, grasshoppers and stuff like that....

They're parasitic and attach themselves to whatever critter they are wanting to eat... I would think that if one attached itself to the back of say for example a prawn (shrimp), the worm then gets dragged around by the shrimp swimming around trying to get away from the worm ....... and if the shrimp swims through or close by some weeds or a tangle of very fine sticks or whatever, the worm could possibly get tangled in them and drag some of the loose ones along with it until the sherimp dies and stops struggling to get away...

That is what I was thinking when I saw it but totally forgot what they were called.

Horsehair Worms | Entomology
Horsehair worms, also known as Gordian worms, belong to the group Nematomorpha.
 

Tate

Honorable
I Screamed KILL IT WITH FIRE!!! and I'll be damned that is Exactly what they did. Good on ya lads.
 
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