Worm
This may have been a day of disasters for me (at home and to a lesser extent, at work), but I remain confident of one thing...
One can never be too blase to remain unsurprised by this weird old world.
Take for example, the discovery of a giant coral-devastating worm:
Aquarists at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay have discovered the identity of a mysterious killer that had been devastating their coral reef display over recent months.
Staff had been puzzled by violent attacks on their fragile living reefs - in some cases the corals had been literally cut in half.
After staking out the display for several weeks, aquarists decided as a last resort to take it apart rock by rock.
Halfway through the process the terrifying perpetrator was finally revealed - a monstrous four-foot-long giant reef worm.
Staff eventually lured it out with fish scraps - but not before it bit through 20lb fishing line.
Curator Matt Slater said: “As part of our tropical marine displays we have been painstakingly propagating a variety of corals. They are extremely slow-growing and every one we have lost to these attacks was a major blow.
“In the end it got so bad that I decided to literally take the display apart to find out who was responsible. I could hardly believe my eyes when I finally caught sight of the culprit.
“It really does look like something out of a horror movie! It’s over four feet long with these bizarre-looking jaws. Having done some research we also discovered that it is covered with thousands of bristles which are capable of inflicting a sting resulting in permanent numbness'.”
One can never be too blase to remain unsurprised by this weird old world.
Take for example, the discovery of a giant coral-devastating worm:
Aquarists at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay have discovered the identity of a mysterious killer that had been devastating their coral reef display over recent months.
Staff had been puzzled by violent attacks on their fragile living reefs - in some cases the corals had been literally cut in half.
After staking out the display for several weeks, aquarists decided as a last resort to take it apart rock by rock.
Halfway through the process the terrifying perpetrator was finally revealed - a monstrous four-foot-long giant reef worm.
Staff eventually lured it out with fish scraps - but not before it bit through 20lb fishing line.
Curator Matt Slater said: “As part of our tropical marine displays we have been painstakingly propagating a variety of corals. They are extremely slow-growing and every one we have lost to these attacks was a major blow.
“In the end it got so bad that I decided to literally take the display apart to find out who was responsible. I could hardly believe my eyes when I finally caught sight of the culprit.
“It really does look like something out of a horror movie! It’s over four feet long with these bizarre-looking jaws. Having done some research we also discovered that it is covered with thousands of bristles which are capable of inflicting a sting resulting in permanent numbness'.”