Snapper Waterworm

The snapper waterworm split from its ancestor. Because its main food source, the ambush sauceback, disappeared, the parasitic waterworm had to adapt. It now drinks the blood of the turtsnapper and its descendants. These creatures are smaller than the sauceback, so the waterworm had to shrink too. It still uses its front fins and spike to hold it in its host, but now the back fins are used too: they keep the worm's body close to the host and provide an even more solid grip. The two parts of the beak partly merged together to make bloodsucking easier.

When feeding, the snapper waterworm's head will often be completely embedded in its host. It aims for the base of the leg or sometimes the belly of the snapper, but will settle for any place not covered by the snapper's shell. The turtsnapper and its descendants are less agile than the saucebacks, making it more difficult for them to scratch the parasite off.

Though the snapper waterworm will try to stay with a single host for as long as possible, because they are very vulnerable when not attached to a snapper, they need to leave their host for breeding. The waterworms breed in the safety of the mud in large pulsating masses. Afterward they will find a new host and lay their eggs under its skin. This is annoying to the host but rarely lethal and the young waterworms will be close to their food from the moment they hatch.