These are awesome. I want a swarm for a pet.
Upwards of 3 feet long and in some cases-as thick as a garden hose and have the texture of jello. There’s mucus. These things are crazy.
Key words: EAT EVERYTHING. ALIVE or DEAD. These have been fed almost everything-and they eat what’s given them: fecal pellets, starfish, dead seal meat, fish, sponges, sea anemones, worms amphipods, penguin meat, sardine meat (with tomato sauce!) and on and on….
(via The Echinoblog.)
PZ Myers says
But will they eat spinach?
Lofty says
Is that where all the old bootlaces go to breed?
Anthony K says
Or spinach full of…atmospheric carbon dioxide?
Anthony K says
Looks like it. These won’t stay tied either.
carlie says
Close. It’s the bootstraps the GOP says you’re supposed to pull yourself up with.
boskerbonzer says
Why, it’s so nice that they save the face for last. In fact, it’s almost artistic. If you don’t look too closely it looks like a curly-red-haired, bearded fish.
(I just got an error message when I tried to submit. Sorry if this posts twice. Here goes…)
No One says
That’s what I want for my funeral. Screw cremation. And take pictures.
moarscienceplz says
I bet that’s where the Tea Partiers’ brains went.
Stacy says
Oh dear. Huge squishy ravenous omnivorous worms. I just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.
Yes. Yes, I am a wimp.
Gvlgeologist, FCD says
But do they eat live seal meat?…..???
And this: “These have been fed almost everything-and they eat what’s given them” – who’s been feeding them? Inquiring minds want to know.
andybutula says
Bored scientists? “Throw in Bob’s laptop case, see if they’ll eat that!”
rapiddominance says
[Banned — pzm]
Jafafa Hots says
Excellent. Now I have the killer’s body disposal method for my script for “CSI: Antarctica.”
anchor says
“But will they eat spinach?”
As long as it is marinated in ketchup.
playonwords says
How long before Hollywood makes a “B” movie about them?
BTW what is it about spinach? Lovely vegetable.
Cook the whole leaf (de-stalked if older), put a very thin layer of oil in a pot, season with a little salt and nutmeg, put the lid on heat and occasionally stir until well wilted. Then a white sauce made with finely chopped or crushed garlic.
Moggie says
I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
saganite says
I’m surprised that they are so multi-coloured. I expected some greyish mass of wriggling worms, not something so… pretty… yet still wriggling.
richardelguru says
Moggie: …Then just slip into this tank of….
StevoR : Free West Papua, free Tibet, let the Chagossians return! says
So if they eat anything will they eat radioactive waste?
(Imagines these things turned into their Godzilla mutant equivalents.)
boygenius says
saganite:
This was my first thought* as well. Is it due to different levels of maturity? Is it because some of them have been eating spinach and others have been eating bootlaces and Bob’s laptop case? A quick googlefu turns up nothing, although I did learn that the ‘lil squishees have an acidic mucus with a pH of 3.5, which indicates that you would want to add a little salt and simmer for a while to balance the flavor.
*Actually, my first thought was: I’m surprised that they are so multi-colored.
Jerry says
I’m going to try playonwords’ recipe in comment #15- it sounds tasty. My no-time recipe for spinach is nuking a package of frozen chopped spinach until it is cooked but still bright green, pressing out the liquid, then adding lemon juice (bottled), stir, then add olive oil. If I’m feeling really adventurous, I add some garlic powder. It’s no comment #15, but everyone likes it. It’s sole other virtue is that it takes very little time to prepare on a busy weeknight.
Rich Woods says
Do they eat wasps? If so, I’ll take a dozen.
birgerjohansson says
Do they eat Spanish snails? We have a bioinvasion of those, and apart from Canadian Geese (who crap all over the place, making things worse) there is no natural enemy that can tolerate their taste.
Caine, Fleur du mal says
Would they eat boxelder beetles? Because nothing eats those. Nothing.