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Click on an audio format for a sound bite from Paulette:
AIFF | WAV
Dateline: Pond Slime with Paulette the Planaria
Wendell: We're here to interview Paulette Planarian. She's a flatworm, part of a
species that you might find in your local pond or stream.
Wendell: Paulette, I've got to say everyone wants me to interview you. No one says,
hey, you've got to interview that cool segmented earthworm. But they do say that you have special
powers. What are they talking about?
Paulette: Well, they could be talking about my mouth...
A Secret Weapon
Wendell: What about it?
Paulette: Well, when I see food, I shoot a tube out from my throat to hold my prey
down. Then enzymes that come from my throat soften the tissue. That makes it easier for my sucking
to tear apart pieces of the prey into microscopic bits which I swallow.
Wendell: How...unusual.
Paulette: Yep, planaria are very talented.
Wendell: Do you have any other talents?
Paulette: We can regenerate.
Wendell: Regenerate? What do you mean by that?
Paulette: Well, all creatures can, to some degree, heal themselves if they're hurt. The
skin of a human can heal for example. A salamander can replace a limb. A lizard can replace its
tail. Earthworms can sometimes replace one or the other end of its body -- but it all depends on
the health of the worm and where the break is.
Heads or Tails?
Wendell: That's right. It's a misconception that we can grow new heads or tails,
willnilly. It's led to a lot of, shall we say, unfortunate accidents.
Paulette: True. But for planaria, it's easy. In fact, we can replace a head, a tail, in
fact we can grow many heads and/or many tails. I once knew a planaria with ten heads. There are
even some kinds of planaria which can regenerate complete worms from almost any piece of their
bodies. Of course, those guys are of great interest to scientists.
Wendell: That is impressive. So where do planaria hang out?
Paulette: Under rocks, streams, ponds. Sometimes people tie a string to a piece of raw
meat and throw it in the water and whistle. If we're around, we'll come.
Wendell: Always good to know. Well thanks, Paulette. Got to run. This has been Wendell
Worm with Paulette, a common flatworm.
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Planaria, magnified
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