Dumpling Waterworm

The dumpling waterworm split from its ancestor and shrank as a result of its lifestyle, almost three fourths of its length is tail, so its body is only about 3 – 4 cm long. It lives almost its entire life inside a luminbean pillar. The lower fins have become long and thin, useless for swimming they are now used to keep a water flow through the worms living chamber, poking out of the side of the luminbean and keeping the holes from closing up. Its tail is now used for fat storage and is kept curled behind the worm when inside their luminbean host. A dumpling waterworm has very little to see, so its eyes are underdeveloped and kept closed during most of its life.

During breeding the males will leave their host to seek out mates, the females stay inside their luminbean and release large amounts of pheromones into the water. When fertilized the female dumpling waterworm will consume virtually the entire luminbean pillar, leaving only the outermost part as a protective husk. After this binge the females digestive tract shrivels, and a special pouch organ fills with eggs, these eggs quickly develop, resulting in an extremely bloated looking waterworm. When the eggs are ready for distribution the female opens her eyes, unravels her massive tail, and leaves her dead, luminbean husk. She swims through the water searching for luminbeans to place her sticky eggs on, during this time she feeds solely on the fat collected in her tail, once that runs out she dies. A few days after being laid the eggs hatch and the larva dig into their host.