Page 46 - One Million Things: Animal Life - The Incredible Visual Guide

WORMS

The term “worm” is a general one used to LEECH
describe invertebrates that have long, soft These annelid worms have a flattened body with a
bodies and, usually, no legs. Worms are sucker at each end. Most live in fresh water, where
they swim. Outside of water, they move by attaching
found in a range of habitats including soil,
their suckers to surfaces and arching their bodies.
tropical forests, lakes, rivers, and the sea.
Some 75 percent of leeches are bloodsuckers. The
Flatworms are the simplest worms and rest are mostly predators of other invertebrates.
have flattened, ribbonlike bodies.
Annelids have bodies divided into
segments. Other worm groups
include peanut worms and
velvet worms.

Most segments
have tiny bristles
PEANUT WORM called chaetae
Found in burrows in shallow seas, these
worms have a slender front end, tipped
with a tentacled mouth, and a swollen
rear end. If threatened, they can retract
their front end into their rear end,
making them resemble a peanut shell.
Peanut worms feed by filtering particles
from sand using their tentacles.

Body coated with
VELVET WORM LAND PLANARIAN
slippery mucus
Inhabitants of tropical forests, velvet worms Flatworms like this one live in habitats
have a wormlike body and up to 43 pairs of with both high temperatures and humidity.
short, stubby legs with clawed “feet.” The head They glide over soil or leaves on a thin film of
has sensory antennae, jaws, and glands that slippery mucus. Land planarians feed on
squirt slime over prey in order to disable it. other worms, slugs, and insect larvae
that they take in through the mouth
in the middle of their underside.

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