Bad News: Notorious Invasive Worm Just Found in U.S.
One of the world’s most invasive species, the New Guinea flatworm, is on the move and has just invaded six new locations, including the continental U.S. — Florida — according to a new study.
The worm (Platydemus manokwari) is on the “100 worst invasive alien species” list, and is now newly located in New Caledonia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida, according to the study, which is published in PeerJ.
Although the worm lives on the ground, it is able to climb trees to follow and consume prey.
Jean-Lou Justine of the Sorbonne’s National Museum of Natural History and his international team of colleagues identified the dreaded worm at the various sites based on observations, DNA sequencing and other techniques.
Because the worm feasts heavily on native mollusks, threatening their populations, the researchers write that “the newly reported presence of the species in mainland U.S. in Florida should be considered a potential major threat to the whole U.S. and even the Americas.”
more
http://news.discovery.com/animals/bad-news-notorious-invasive-worm-just-found-in-u-s-150623.htm
And here I was thinking they were discussing Ted Cruz….
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