Freakish ‘snake’ found in Virginia is large invasive species of worm, experts say

A weird “snake” found in Virginia with a half-moon shaped head has been identified not as a reptile, but as a large invasive species of Asian worm.

Virginia Wildlife Management and Control posted photos of the creature last week, noting someone in Midlothian, Virginia, called the company’s Snake Identification Hotline asking for help and even sent a video. Midlothian is just west of Richmond.

“We identify thousands of snakes every year ... but the problem is, we’ve never seen anything like it before and we’re not sure if it’s a freak of nature,” the company posted Oct. 28 on Facebook.

“So, if anyone has any idea what it is, please feel free to comment. It was described as being around 10-12 inches long.”

In an update, the company said the pest was identified as a hammerhead worm, which the Texas Invasive Species Institute says is “a terrestrial flatworm” native to Southeast Asia. The species is hermaphroditic, meaning they have “both male and female genitalia,” according to Biologydictionary.net.

Hundreds have commented on the Facebook post, with many noting the tough-to-kill worms “are essentially immortal,” a joke that has an element of truth to it.

“Flatworms may not look that exciting, but they have an astonishing superpower: regeneration. When bits of them are amputated, these bits can regrow into complete worms — even from snipped-off fragments that represent 1/300th of the worm’s body,” Live Science reports.

To kill the worm, Facebook commenters suggested everything from salt to vinegar to burning it.

“Cutting them creates two instead of killing the one,” one commenter said.

It’s believed the species hitchhiked its way to the U.S. decades ago in the horticulture trade and specimens have been found in greenhouses as far north as Maine, the Texas Invasive Species Institute says. Virginia is not among the state’s where the worms have been found, but they have turned up in nearby North Carolina, the institute reports.

The person who found the worm was not identified, nor was the exact location. Virginia Wildlife Management officials told McClatchy News they did not kill the worm: “They just left it alone.”