Journalist hunts for acid-spitting Mongolian death worm

reply to post by pause4thought


Can't be, but good guess. They require far too much moisture, as they are amphibians.

Some are actually aquatic, and the rest live in tropical climates. No way, they would die from desiccation.

My guess (for the moment)

Peter's Giant Blind Snake/Zambezi Blind Snake. They're the same thing.

/mawvkq

Page ten there. Apparently they can get up to 3 feet (which means that they can get larger), the largest of the blind snakes.


I'm still mulling through ideas. Of course the snakes that really do look like worms (www.wildherps.com...) are native to the USA. And smaaaaaall.

en.wikipedia.org...
Those can get to 29 inches...

And these guys are all harmless.

So. I'm still mulling through ideas.

Edit- I think the last time this came up I went with Caecilian. But they need water to survive. Let me dig up what I said...

Here-
The Minhocao- Giant Earthworm or Legless Amphibian?

It was about the Minhocao, which is in South America, so I thought that a Caecilian was an appropriate answer. But in the desert... that's really different.

[edit on 8/3/2009 by ravenshadow13]

When i was a kid I used to read a book called, monsters you never heard of, by Daniel Cohen.

In one chapter he described a lizard like creature called the tazzel worm, or something like that.
It was supposedly very poisonous, even it's breathe could kill a man.

Could it be the same thing?

I am sure the worm exists. Does it shoot acid, breath fire, and fly by night (or any other folklurish tale) probably not. The US has its own reclusive worm in the Giant Palouse earthworm. A one meter worm that hasn't been seen since 2005. If people in the US can't find a one meter worm, it is totally possibly that a large worm is even harder to find in the Gobi Desert.

Best of luck for the researchers, they'll need it.

@ first I was lmao when it desribed lightning farts still lmao but eriously I wouldnt doubt it. Probably just need some peptmo bismo lol IM SORRY THESE TYPES OF CREATURES AMAZE ME ALMOST LIKE DRAGONS SHHHHHHHHHHHH.

[edit on 8/3/09 by Ophiuchus 13]

Originally posted by mopusvindictus
I seriously dobt that it is a worm,

Based on what?

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


The Tatzelwurm!!!

Austrian Tatzelwurm?
Has Anyone Heard of This Creature?

reply to post by testrat


In Washington State and Idaho, the moist soil makes it possible for large earthworms to thrive.

But in the desert, I don't think a worm could survive on the surface. In the deep sand it is possible, but not the way these worms are described.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


Googled your suggestion & came up with an ATS thread:

Tatzel wurm

It seems it was being discussed as a cryptid as opposed to a recognized species - though perhaps because the context was Europe.

I also came across a discussion about this creepy dude:



[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4456c1415b18.jpg[/atsimg]



Source


Looks like something out of a Spiderman movie.

One of the comments looked interesting:

problably a extinct creature known as megasanhole lizard that is a lizard 6 to 8 feet long

Nothing on Google about such a thing, though. Perhaps misspelt?



reply to post by Ravenshadow13


I bow to your superior knowledge. What you say sounds logical. All the same, I still can't help wondering whether there might be sufficient moisture if the creature has the ability to burrow deeply under the sand. That might also explain why it's almost never seen.

The caecilian fits in terms of having glands that secrete poison - do you know whether any of those other creatures you mentioned also fit the bill to that degree?


Here's another caecilian, just for the record. (I'm beginning to like them. )


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3e332d7b2ae7.jpeg[/atsimg]


Interestingly one of the eye witnesses in the documentary posted on the previous page mentioned that the colour of the death worm varied according to the habitat. Nothing conclusive, obviously, but seeing this brown specimen reminded me of that comment.

Incidentally, I've just seen testrat's comment about how accounts of the death worm are probably exaggerated, and I think we'd probably all agree - especially when it comes to it giving an electric shock in addition to being venomous. An ability to squirt venom/poison in some way doesn't sound too outrageous, though.

reply to post by pause4thought

I love Caecilians/Apoda, too. I was thinking of getting one. They are possibly my favorite amphibians.

Um, right. No, the worms I listed are not dangerous at all. If it wasn't for the soil, I would say that it's 100% a Caecilian. Especially since blind snakes don't get very large. But amphibians are just so reliant on moisture, I don't know. It says that they can live in parts of South China.

That's this guy: en.wikipedia.org...

I just went through all those species. They're all in like, Thailand, Malaysia, tropical and sub tropical climates so far. Hold on... India, Indonesia...

There's this:
encarta.msn.com...

Species of caecilians vary widely in size. The largest known species, found in Colombia, measures 150 cm (59 in) long.

Hooooold up. /kqzsuj
That Google Book talks about seven species that are shorter but live in the Sahara. So technically if that's true and there was a population of similarly evolved Caecilia that evolved in Mongolia, it could have thrived and grown to a larger size. I can't find much about them but I'll keep looking.

I had put forth the Caecilia idea for the Minhocao cryptid that I linked to before. I've thought about it. So I'll check it out.
Edit- Everything that I find says tropical and sub-tropical. So they live near the Sahara, but not in the Sahara. It's still possible..

So funny. Last night I was going through some old threads in the crypto forum like "Man, it's been ages since I've seen a Mongolian Death Worm thread..."

Edit- Just for kicks. Largest amphibian is this guy: www.arkive.org...

Edit edit- I'm going to check up on that lizard you posted. It must be misspelled. I'm going to try and look around.

[edit on 8/3/2009 by ravenshadow13]

reply to post by pause4thought


Your lizard is this dude: en.wikipedia.org...

Only 6 to 9 inches. So that's not likely. =(
Cool lizard, though.

Thanks for the lead, maybe these guys: en.wikipedia.org...
can live in arid environments?

en.wikipedia.org...
These are carnivorous. I'll check this out, too.

LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!

The Trogonophidae, (Palearctic Worm Lizards or Desert Ringed Lizards), are a family of Amphisbaenians. Trogonophids are found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and western Iran. They are limbless, carnivorous, lizard-like reptiles highly modified for burrowing. They construct their tunnels with an oscillating motion that forces soil into the walls. Unlike other amphisbaenians, their teeth are fused to their jaws, rather than lying in a groove.[1

en.wikipedia.org...

Now we have to find how big they get.

www.jcvi.org...
24cm. Now that is a bummer.


www.jcvi.org...
Looks like "Amphisbaena alba LINNAEUS" helps us... "Max. total length: 75 cm (this is the largest amphisbaenian known" (They live in South America)
aka Amphisbaena beniensis
and aka Red Worm Lizard



[edit on 8/3/2009 by ravenshadow13]

reply to post by ravenshadow13


I followed your encarta link & discovered caecilians are vertebrates (!) and that some have young that fatten themselves up on their mother's skin, among other weird and wonderful habits.

I want one.

Preferably not from Mongolia, though.


Here's another investigation. The search for the MDW starts at 6:40 -













A little amateurish compared to the other one, but informative nonetheless.

reply to post by pause4thought


Oh yeah sorry! All amphibians are vertebrates . That's what makes these guys so cool. They look like invertebrates but they're not. They also have scales... that are just shaped like segments. They're not actually segmented the way that annelids (segmented worms) are. Earthworms are annelids. These are other types of worms too, but most are parasitic or marine. All reptiles, mammals, and fish are vertebrates (except for a few fish, lampreys and hagfish, which are just chordates).

Thanks for the clips!

[edit on 8/3/2009 by ravenshadow13]

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Forgive my ignorance. It's just that the grey one on page 1 looked so much like the mother of all earthworms I was shocked to learn it had an internal skeleton.

Those other facts were very educational. Not sure I'd be focussing on them if one suddenly popped out of the Gobi desert, though. Especially in the dark, which is where crazy westerners seem to like poking around for them...

reply to post by pause4thought


It's totally not ignorance! I used to think the same thing. If I hadn't taken a course on it, I would have had no idea. I don't know how I would tell the difference if I saw one... I'd probably have to either take it with me an do an X-ray, or cut it open.

If there is a Mongolian Death Worm, Tatzlwurm, or any other Death Worm, keep it far away from me, whether it is a vertebrate or not, whether it's a lizard or a snake or an amphibian, I totally don't care either way.

I think it would be one of the rare cases where I would go "Um, forget cryptozoology, forget evidence, forget samples, I'm saving my butt."

William Wallace: Yes, I've heard. Kills men by the hundreds. And if HE were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse.

Good old William Wallace from Braveheart.

Seriously I do believe we havent seen everything this world has to offer up but I do not think it would be as dramatic as what is described.

reply to post by ravenshadow13



I think it's fair to put survival before research XD.

I think if this creature is real it is likely some sort of snake or legless lizard. Maybe it pits venom like a spitting cobra. Creatures spitting toxic chemicals is fact not fiction. If it lives underground it would indeed be difficult to find. Snakes can indeed use vibrations. They have no ears and so sense vibrations instead. If this creature does indeed exist then I think it's a snake or something similar.

reply to post by Zoopedia


I suppose the reason people aren't generally assuming it's a snake is that the folks who live in the desert would presumably recognize a snake.



reply to posts by Ravenshadow13


Did you watch those last 3 videos I posted? The investigators went deep into the Gobi to get to the village that had been abandoned due to terrorization by death worms. In view of the fact that caecilians are amphibians three things were worth noting: 1) there was a fair-sized stream out there, 2) the holes that may have belonged to you-know-who were in the vicinity and 3) the team was intrigued by a splash they heard in the middle of the night.

Can you believe the way they tormented that thing, BTW? Destroying its burrow, then sticking a hand in after the whole of Mongolia told them it was 'very dangerous'? Remember that scene? -

(take it from 3:58)

reply to post by Zoopedia


Snakes do actually have internal eats, just no external hearing anatomy. Their internal hearing equipment is very similar to our own.

It could, theoretically, spit venom if it is a snake or legless lizard. But I don't know why it would need to. These seem to be very solitary and deep-dwelling. Defense mechanisms of that sort would probably not be used for feeding, but for defense, and I don't think it's likely because I can't see many predators in the same areas as this creature, especially underground, which would want to feast on it.

Possibly, but not likely.

reply to post by pause4thought


I think that it's highly possible that it is a caecilian. Dangerous? Dunno.

Mongolia is one of those areas where the wildlife is still being discovered, and I can see many ground-dwellers being neglected by modern taxonomy.

If there is water, there can be amphibians. If there are no predators and a great food source, there can be large amphibians.

Never stick your hand down a hole that could be occupied, kids. Not a good idea, even if the animals could he harmless. At the very least the organism would sense a disturbance or human scent later on and will abandon it's burrow. At the worst, you could be injured by something venomous and die.