Sandworms

[FireSnake]

Okay, here's my two cents ...

First off, they actually DO get their nourishment out of the sand. They're not any different from common earthworms ... Er ... Except for the size part ... COUGH! Yessirree bob ...

Besides - lookie whales for example. The biggest animals on the face of the earth and they rely on small plancton.

As for the water part - as I recall water kills the larvae and also seriously damages the Worms. As I recall, of course. So basicly - I think that the Worms don't require water whatsoever.

As for the "lightning" part now, I heard somewhere that the lightning is actually their bodies' electrical impulses in the Spicy air. In sum - the Spice kinda "amplifies" those impulses. And as the Worms are so freaking BIG and they're ALL ABOUT Spice then it seems logic in sci-fi way.

Anyway, just what I heard.

My two cents. COUGH. Yessirree bob.

- Matthew

[TMA_1]

remember though, these arent just overgrown earthworms. That is a big misconception people have. These worms are more related to a shipworm or other types of parasite or microbial carnivor.

[ilexatrei]

In some ways they seem to remind me of a venus fly trap because they seem to be able to survive without eating organisms when there are no life forms moving about the sands. And they just reproduce sugars in order to survive.

[Exo Etherial]

I'm going to pretend I never read the remark about the laws of thermodynamics somehow being circumvented by the given status of some nonsentient, nonexistent life form... That aside, I've given it a bit more thought, I've read each and every one of the posts. Good stuff this!

Clarification: Photosynthesis requires light, and it requires carbon dioxide fixed nitrogen and WATER. Or some other chemical(s) containing nitrogen carbon and oxygen; the actual elements that make up the simplest sugars. Light alone does not any sugar make. :P

You could mean chemosythesis. For example, the type of metabolisms some microbial organisms living along undersea volcanic vents come to mind. Utilizing chemicals extracted from somewhere to be used inside of the organism for the production of sugars and/or proteins. In fact, if the proper substances are supplied, possibly all without the need for water. Of course this would mean that there are other types of life forms using this source of food also (Biological Diversity being what it is and all...). This brings me back to my hypothesis about the underground muck beds...

Oh, and Blue Whales consume metric TONNES of krill a day. They do not eat plankton, though the krill does. They bask (spend time not moving), and travel through water* and not sand^...

Keep 'em commin' guys!

* A fluid that supports a lot of weight per cubed unit of volume, flows freely, and offers little resistance.

^ A fluid-like solid that does not support much weight per cubic unit of volume, has moderate trouble flowing freely, and puts up a fair amount of resistence.

[lowzeewee]

Can they eat each other ???

[FireSnake]

;D

- Matthew