| Other Names | None |
| Climate/Terrain | Desert |
| Frequency | Uncommon |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Diurnal |
| Diet | Omnivore |
The sand worm is a long, thick bodied worm adapted to the sands of the desert. It has a hard shell like beak which it uses to push sand out of the way. Hundreds of small fin shaped muscles protrude through the thick, wrinkled leathery tan hide of the beast. It has no visible organs at all. A typical sandworm is about 5 meters long, one meter in diameter and weighs about 350 kilograms (770 pounds).
The favorite tactic of this worm is to lunge out of the sand from underfoot, grab and withdraw, pulling the creature into the sand where it cannot fight. This usually only works on creatures that weight less than 50 kilograms.
Sand worms have no society. They interact with no society but the baenites. Sand worms and baenites often hunt each other. Sand worms are found exclusively in the Baen Desert.
The fin shaped protrusions are actually muscles with many nerves. These muscles push against the sand and allow the sand worm to tunnel underneath the dunes with great speed. It moves quickly and leaves no tunnel behind it, but when traveling near the surface, it does create a wake. The sand worm has no sensory organs except the fins. These fins are very sensitive to vibration. It uses these fins to located movement on the surface which indicates potential prey. It can also "hear" with the fins when above ground. It is totally blind and immune to all visual attacks. The diet of the sand worm consists of desert flora and small desert animals.
This page last updated Wednesday, December 24, 2008. Copyright 1990-2009 David M. Roomes.