Page 61 - BBC Focus - August 2017
P. 61
PEANUT WORM
Let’s face it – we’re all thinking the same thing. But this is not a penis worm
(although they do exist: a whole phylum of penis worms lives in mud in
shallower seas). This worm belongs to a different group of seabed dwellers,
called ‘sipuncula’. They can retract the front part of their bodies when
they’re threatened, making them look more like peanuts. There are male
and female peanut worms, which can either reproduce sexually, by releasing
sperm and eggs, or asexually, by splitting themselves in half to produce
identical clones – handy if they can’t find a mate.
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