Science & Tech

Watch a Terrifying, 6,000-Toothed Giant Snail Eat an Earthworm Whole

by Derrick Rossignol
Jun 14 2017 • 8:00 AM

Australia is the often the first place that comes to mind when we think of locations that are home to hoards of terrifying creatures. They have mutant Spider-Man spiders and snakes that will try to eat you in your sleep, for goodness sakes. However, let’s zoom out a bit because Australia’s neighbor New Zealand isn’t messing around when it comes to mortifying animals either. For example, a video from BBC Earth shows footage of the Powelliphanta Snail (via Sploid), and after seeing it, I’m fine staying in America for the foreseeable future.

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The rare giant snail can grow to the size of “a man’s fist,” as the narrator put it. In the clip above, the snail sets its sights on an earthworm, and as you’d expect, from that moment on, that worm is living on borrowed time. The snail catches sight of the worm, sucks it up into its mouth, and suffocates it.

But that’s not the only trick up this snail’s sleeve. If this worm would have been larger (or if the snail happened to catch you sleeping and found its way to one of your fingers), its 6,000 teeth would properly take care of matters. The good news is that it’s wildly unlikely you’ll ever run into once; they’re so rare that they can really only be filmed in captivity.

Check out the footage above, and let us know in the comments if you know of any other “no, no thanks, I’m good” creatures of New Zealand.

Featured image: BBC Earth/YouTube