A FLESH-EATING worm from Argentina has wriggled its way into Britain and was first spotted at a garden centre in Oxfordshire.
The killer creepy-crawly grows up to three inches long and has hundreds of tiny eyes along its whole body.
It hunts snails and earthworms – putting the UK’s indigenous population at risk and causing havoc for farmers and gardeners.
The damaging pest could even wipe out up to a fifth of our most vital invertebrates, warns a scientist.
The slimy brown flatworm, known as Obama Nungara, was accidentally imported from South America.
Read more: Litter pickers at the ready for Oxford's biggest spring clean
It was first seen in Europe in Guernsey in 2008, but has spread through France and into Spain and has also been confirmed at a number of locations in the UK.
It was first seen on the mainland in 2016 crawling out of soil from a Heuchera plant at a garden centre in Oxfordshire.
Since then it has been found in at least two other garden centres and once in a private garden – suggesting it is gaining a foothold in the country.
The worry is that typical garden worms help to turn the soil, fuelling healthy plants as well as playing a vital role in the food chain – but the Obama Nungara preys on them.
Lead Professor Jean-Lou Justine, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in Paris, said: "To date, the presence of Obama nungara has been occasionally recorded from several countries in Europe, including Spain, Portugal, UK, Italy, and Belgium.
"However, in none of these countries has a study of the extent of the occurrence of O. nungara been performed."
The latest observations mainly by 'citizen scientists' are the first of their kind - and include 530 verified records received from 2013 to 2018.
The professor added: "The extensive distribution of the species and its reported local abundance, combined with its predatory character, make Obama Nungara a potential threat to the biodiversity and ecology of the soils in Europe.
"Obama Nungara is the most threatening species of all invasive flatworms present in Europe."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel