Researchers Find Highly Invasive Snail-Eating Flatworm That Has a Mouth In the Middle Of Its Belly

Researchers have found an unsightly worm with a mouth in the middle of its belly. Considered to be one of the world's "worst invasive species," researchers found it for the first time in the US, making its home in several Miami gardens.

Apart from Florida, the flatworm has been also found in New Caledonia, the Wallis and Futuna Islands, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, and Puerto Rico.

The species, officially known as Platydemus manokwari, poses a major threat to the Earth's snail biodiversity.

Using a mouth located in the middle of its belly, the creature wraps itself around snails and ingests them.

Invasive Species Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has already listed it among the 100 worst invasive species in the world.

The worm can also be harmful to humans. According to study author Jean-Lou Justine, a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, the creatures produce "dangerous chemicals and release them with their mucus, which is a protection against possible predators." Those chemicals "can be toxic and could induce allergic reactions," he said.

The worm originally comes from New Guinea and so far has been detected in 15 countries.

"Until now infested territories were mostly islands and the spread of the species from island to island is limited," the study states. The flatworm can "easily be passively spread with infested plants, plant parts and soil."

Researchers published the findings related to the flatworm in journal PeerJ.