Bearded fireworms ( Hermodice carunculata )

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Fishermen from Sicily have reported growing problem caused by Bearded fireworms ( Hermodice carunculata ) - Times of India

Bearded fireworms are usually 15 cm (6 inches) in average length, but can reach up to 30 cm (12 inches).

At first glance, this fire worm looks like a centipede with its elongated and flattened appearance, multiple segments, white silks, and parapodia and gills located on the side of its body. Its colors are varied and range from greenish, to yellowish, to reddish, grayish through white with a pearly glow. The body consists of 60 to 150 identical segments separated from each other by a thin white line and protected by cuticles. Each segment has a pair of parapodia, a structure for locomotion, clusters of stinging white bristles, and red or orange gills all in bilateral position. The anterior part of the worm can be recognized by small growths, called caruncle, which have the same color of the gills on the first four segments. The mouth is ventral and is located on the second segment. The head is shown on the first segment and includes the eyes and other sensory organs.

The bearded fireworm is a slow creature, and is not considered a threat to humans unless touched by careless swimmers. The bristles, when flared, can penetrate human skin, injecting a powerful neurotoxin and producing intense irritation and a painful burning sensation around the area of contact. 

Usually they thrive in the warming Mediterranean Sea. It was attributed to global warming. It was reported that they eatparts of fish caught in net and renderthem non edible and useless.

Once confined to the waters off Sicily, they are now reported accross Calabria, southern Italy.

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