Worm bites off enough to chew: Ingenious evolutionary trick

ScienceDaily (2010-07-05) -- Dramatic scenes are played out under Ralf Sommer’s microscope: his research object, the roundworm Pristionchus pacificus bites another worm, tears open a hole in its side and devours the oozing contents. The squirming victim does not stand a chance in this duel: Caenorhabditis elegans may be a close relative of Pristionchus; unfortunately, however, it does not have the same strong "teeth". Pristionchus’ impressive hunting technique though is not the focus of interest for the biologists. Their concern is the development of its mouthparts.