I for one welcome our new venomous sea worm overlords

[Beau Vine 54205]

Quote

As if sharks, jellyfish and stingrays weren't enough to worry about at the beach. Now Texans can add fireworms to the mix. 

A few of the unusual and poisonous marine critters were spotted along the Texas coast recently, with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies referring to the sighting as one of your "worst nightmares."

"WARNING!!! Your worst nightmares are washing up right now in the form of fireworms!," according to a Facebook post by the Harte Research Institute, a division of Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. 

While these marine polychaeta worms aren’t exclusive to Texas, two out of three reported sightings were documented in the Lone Star State in the last few years. North Carolina is included on the list, where beachgoers also observed a bristle worm back in August 2022.

Fireworms can wash up on an any ocean shore in the world so long as there is debris for them to cling on. And let’s just say this critter is the opposite of docile, unleashing a neurotoxin from their tiny white bristles that break off when touched. 

“The fireworms get their name because of the pain they inflict on anyone that dares to touch them; it literally feels like fire for about three hours,” according to the Harte Research Institute. “Your skin can feel sensitive in the sting site for weeks depending on where it stung you.”

Fireworms are not 'very common,' marine biologist says

Jace Tunnell, director of community engagement and marine biologist at the Harte Research Institute discovered the fireworms by accident.

Tunnell shared told USA TODAY on Tuesday that he was making a video for the Institute about gooseneck barnacles when he “accidentally stumbled across the worm.” 

“We’ve found a few of these marine polychaetes, sometimes called bristle worms, washing up over the past couple of days on large logs,” according to the Harte Research Institute’s post. “The logs these were found on had gooseneck barnacles all over them, which might have been what the worms were feeding on.”

Beachgoers, fisherman, or curious marine biologists, can usually find fireworms clinging to debris like logs. More specifically, any piece of debris riddled with gooseneck barnacles, which is what the marine worm feeds on. 

Where else have fireworms been found?
Debris isn’t the only place you can find fireworms, which cling to any surface where there are crustaceans to feed on.

Other habitats include coral reefs, rocky areas and seagrass beds, according to reporting by the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.

They have been found in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and of course, the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Harte Research Institute.

 

Beachgoers everywhere are encouraged to remain vigilant amid these creatures’ growing presence, which is likely tied to shifts in ocean currents, weather patterns and other environmental factors, the Statesman reported. 

With 28 different species of fireworms and thousands of species of polychaetes in the ocean among other things, it should come as no surprise that Tunnell tells people to avoid touching stuff.

“There's a lot of stuff that could sting you in the ocean. So, you don't want to just go around touching stuff,” Tunnell said. But if contact does happen, Tunnell recommends isopropyl alcohol or vinegar if you do happen to get stung by a fireworm.

If you happen to get pricked by the poisonous spikes, the National Park Service recommends using adhesive tape to remove the bristles and ammonia to help relieve pain. 

The best way to engage with a fireworm, according to Tunnell, is by taking a photo to commemorate the moment or by using a stick to pick it up and put it in the water so you get a chance to look at the way the critter changes when submerged. 

“They’re actually really cool animals,” Tunnell said. "Just enjoy the beauty of the animal, which sounds crazy − a scary- looking worm."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/08/27/fireworms-texas-coast/74974121007/

 

Edited August 29 by Beau Vine

[Sbbruin 21829]

[High Plains Drifter 11026]

 

I get that accidents happen, but any moron dumb enough to touch something that looks like that deserves to feel pain like burning fire for three hours. 

 

 

[ztejas 43411]

Fireworms? I think I had that for a couple weeks after a trip to Lubbock. 

[InkaUtexas 25857]

Fireworms are not 'very common,' marine biologist says

Yeah, cuz they can't fuck.

[Brisketexan 105057]

10 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Fireworms are not 'very common,' marine biologist says

Yeah, cuz they can't fuck.

"Not so fast, my friend...."

[InkaUtexas 25857]

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

"Not so fast, my friend...."

 All lawyers are fireworms.

[RDCanecutter 26379]

42 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

I get that accidents happen, but any moron dumb enough to touch something that looks like that deserves to feel pain like burning fire for three hours. 

 

 

What's the Japanese name for it? I wanna order some fireworm sushi.

[Sawbonz 27534]

48 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

I get that accidents happen, but any moron dumb enough to touch something that looks like that deserves to feel pain like burning fire for three hours. 

 

 

I had a couple of random hookups like that in college 

[Longhornstampede 3180]

1 hour ago, RDCanecutter said:

What's the Japanese name for it? I wanna order some fireworm sushi.

I'm sure those fuckers have invented a way to prepare them as food. They'll feed you all sorts of shit that can kill you out in the wild. Them and the Vietnamese.

[InkaUtexas 25857]

Yeah, but African will feed you shit that can kill a nation. Here, have some under cooked monkey thigh wrapped in bat. It is fine. Don't worry about the cook who is bleeding out of every orifice. He had some earlier, but that is just a touch of malaria.

[WBT 20561]

Your mom likes polychaeta worms

[RDCanecutter 26379]

My wife and I were staying at this campground up in the hills. There was an RV near us with "just married" stuff painted all over it. Every morning I'd be outside drinking coffee, and I'd see this little dude get out of that RV, carrying fishing gear, and he'd walk down to the lake to fish.

He'd fish all damn day. Every day.

After about three days of this, we were wondering what kind of honeymoon that could be. So me, not having any shame, the next morning I went up to him at the water's edge, and spoke.

Me: You like fishing, huh?

"Yep yep ah lahk fishin."

And you're on your honeymoon?

"Yep yep honeymoon wife's the purtiest gal you ever done seen."

So, yeah... so, why aren't you spending more time with her?

"Wif her? Like, why?"

Well, for sex, man!

"Aw, SEX! HAHAHA aw naw we cain't do that raht now she's all ate up wif the gonorrhea."

Aw fuck, sorry I asked--

"And they's no ways to do the back door, cuz she's all afflicted turrible with the diarrhea..."

(gag)

"And ah cain't git no blow-job cuz she's got the pyorrhea, gums all ate up lahk a zombie movie..."

Gotdammit man, why'd you even marry a woman like that?

"Oh that's easy," he said as he baited the hook, "She's got worms."

[NAVY 6740]

Fiiiirrrrrrr woooorrrrrrrrr rrrrr rrrmmmmmm smoke she is arising 

 

[thunderlounge 7813]

https://printedreef.com/blogs/blog-posts/bristle-worm

 

The worms themselves are common. Washing up on the beach, not so much.

 

[fattyflattie 4639]

On 8/29/2024 at 3:16 PM, Beau Vine said:

The best way to engage with a fireworm, according to Tunnell, is by taking a photo to commemorate the moment or by using a stick to pick it up pulverize and piss on it, and put it in the water so you get a chance to look at the way the critter changes when submerged.