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A living Amaga Pseudobama specimen in a petri dish, observed from three different views. © Justine, et al/PeerJ Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen invasive species of land flatworm living in North Carolina, Florida, and possibly other parts of the U.S. The United States appears to be playing host to a novel wormy invader. In a new study this week, scientists report on the discovery of a never-before-seen species of flatworm living in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and possibly other parts of the U.S. The predatory worm likely originated from South America and closely resembles other invasive species, which will hamper...

Hammerhead flatworms, which grow to a foot or more in length, do not belong in European vegetable gardens. "We do not have that in France," said Justine, a professor at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. The predatory worms are native to Asia, where they happily gobble up earthworms under a warmer sun. The gardener who took the first photo, an amateur naturalist named Pierre Gros, emailed Justine a second picture a week later. It was of a completely different species of giant worm. … "The species are cryptic and soil-dwelling so can be easily overlooked, which often...