What Happens When a Turtle Bites a Venomous Fireworm?

Quick Take

• A stinging fireworm becomes an easy meal for this turtle, and there is a specific reason it can pull that off. See why this turtle can →
• Green sea turtles don't stay carnivores, and that dietary flip reveals something key about which turtle you're actually watching in this video. Discover the diet shift →
• Bearded fireworms are considered pests for a reason that has nothing to do with their sting. Explore their pest status →

A green sea turtle and a bearded fireworm confront each other in the ocean — who is going to win? Although the name ‘bearded fireworm’ might sound like something from a Super Mario video game, it is actually a real species. When a turtle encountered a bearded fireworm in the ocean, it resulted in a fatal outcome for one of them.

An Instagram user shared a video of a green sea turtle named Lola underwater in Florida. The turtle caught a bearded fireworm in its mouth. After biting it a few times, a white substance was released from the fireworm and floated away. The turtle then swallowed it and swam away, likely in search of more food. “I swear this turtle never passes up fat fireworm when she sees one,” the video was captioned.

What Is a Bearded Fireworm?

A bearded fireworm (Hermodice carunculata) is native to Florida and several other locations in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and is sometimes found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The marine bristle worm goes by many names, including fireworm, bristleworm, sea fireworm, and Aphrodite worm, among others.

Fireworms can be a flaming red-orange or green color, with white bristles known as stinging chaetae. These chaetae are filled with venom and are located on each body segment of the bearded fireworm. If you come into contact with the chaetae, they can cause pain, stinging, and irritation to you or any other creature that crosses their path.

Although these fireworms are relatively small — just about 10 to 30 cm in length — they can inflict painful stings on anyone who touches them by releasing tufts of chaetae to sting potential predators, as seen in the video above. The burning sensation caused by their sting is what gives the fireworm its name.

Bearded fireworms tend to crawl on reefs and over corals, feeding on cnidarians, and are considered pests in coral nurseries. Humans should always wear gloves when working near fireworms.

What Type of Turtle Ate the Bearded Fireworm?

The turtle in the Instagram video above is a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). This marine-adapted reptile has flipper-like fins to help it swim and, on average, can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh between 150 and 419 pounds.  

Young green sea turtles are carnivorous and eat fish eggs, jellyfish, mollusks, small invertebrates, algae, crustaceans, and worms, including the bearded fireworm. As they get older, however, they transition to a herbivorous diet focused on green and red algae, moss, sea lettuce, green seaweed, seagrass, and more. In fact, the green sea turtle gets its name from the greenish color of its body fat, which is influenced by its diet.

Because the turtle in the video quickly devoured the bearded fireworm, it was likely a juvenile green sea turtle that had not yet transitioned to a plant-based diet (unfortunately for the fireworm).

It’s fascinating to see the laws of nature and the food chain in action when a green sea turtle encounters a bearded fireworm!