Venomous Sea Worms, Described by Scientists as 'Your Worst Nightmares,' Found on Texas Beach
Mar. 15, 2025A photo of a venomous sea worm.Photo:Jace Tunnell/Harte Research Institute
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Jace Tunnell/Harte Research Institute
Rare venomous sea worms have recently been found on a Texas beach, according to theHarte Research Institutefor Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
“WARNING!!! Your worst nightmares are washing up right now in the form of fireworms!” the Harte Research Institute began its caption, before detailing, “We’ve found a few of these marine polychaetes, sometimes called bristle worms, washing up over the past couple of days on large logs.”
Highlighting that the worms “get their name because of the pain they inflict on anyone that dares to touch them,” the institute added, “It literally feels like fire for about three hours.”
“Your skin can feel sensitive in the sting site for weeks depending on where it stung you,” they continued.
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A photo of a venomous sea worm.Jace Tunnell/Harte Research Institute
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According to the Harte Research Institute, the “white bristles” of the fireworms are “filled with neurotoxin and they break off when you touch them.”
The organization added that the animals “feed on crustaceans like barnacles,” and they said that the worms had been found on “large logs” that had “gooseneck barnacles all over them.”
The dangerous sea worms, the Harte Research Institute also said, are found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Jace Tunnell holding up a venomous sea worm.Jace Tunnell/Harte Research Institute
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In avideoshared on the Harte Research Institute’s YouTube page, researcher Tunnell said the fireworms reproduce sexually and asexually. “I could cut this thing in half, and it could regrow," he explained.
Tunnell also said the creatures can live between two and a half and nine years, and they are made up of 60 to 150 different segments.
source: people.com
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