{"id":5497,"date":"2024-04-29T20:42:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T20:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5497"},"modified":"2024-04-29T20:42:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T20:42:53","slug":"hammerhead-flatworm-spotted-in-ontario-after-giant-toxic-worm-invades-quebec-us-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5497","title":{"rendered":"Hammerhead flatworm spotted in Ontario after giant toxic worm invades Quebec, US states"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An invasive and harmful worm capable of growing to three feet long has been discovered in Ontario, Canada. The\u00a0hammerhead land planarian<\/span> is toxic and, experts warn, can pose a threat to pets, small children and small animals. <\/p>\n

“They’re here. People are surprised to see them because they are very unusual. People are not used to seeing them. They are originally a semitropical organism,” John Reynolds, a laboratory biologist and worm expert,\u00a0told CTV News Toronto.<\/p>\n

According to iNaturalist, an online platform where people can report sightings of invasive species, the initial presence of hammerhead worms in the province dates to a couple of years ago, but the number of sightings in the province have increased over the past 12 months \u2014 with reports as recent as yesterday.<\/p>\n

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A hammerhead flatworm found in Napierville, Illinois.<\/span><\/p>\n

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bg1159 \/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0<\/p>\n

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The flatworms are native to southeast Asia and thrive in moist soil, and have been a longstanding issue in the United States and Quebec. Now, they are making their way to new locations, possibly via greenhouse plants.<\/p>\n