Worms, real and imagined.

Working on some freewriting, but had to ponder on this little gem...

Monsters.  We make creations out of myth and nature, mix and match, try to come up with something just a bit odder, a little more not-quite-right.  Something that hasn't been seen before.

So I came up with the Barrow Worm.  Nothing too out there.  Just an extrapolation of a scavenger, based a bit on reality, a bit on make-believe, and make it big.

My wife - a microbiologist with training as a marine biologist - lent a hand with a quick illustration to make my creepy crawly come to life, including elements from some marine worms.

So I came upon a post a few days back.  With this leading bit of nightmare fuel:

source

Meet the Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) a jawed marine worn that lurks in its burrow, awaiting any unsuspecting prey.

Video of the little nasty (complete with somewhat melodramatic narration).  Check out the uncompromising jaws vs. the conceptual mouth-parts of the invented critter, above :)

Seems the worms can reach lengths of 3 meters (Although they are only one to two inches in diameter).

Whatever we create - nature will have already come up with a version - occasionally even more extreme than our minds imagine...

And it sounds like I need to make my barrow worm bigger...

Update: IFLScience reposted the critter, as well.  And you never know why your fish may be disappearing from your aquarium...