Indus worm Indus worm The skōlex (Indus Worm or the horrible Indian worm), in ancient Greek writings, was a supposed giant, white, carnivorous worm with a large pair of teeth that lived in the Indus River. Gustav Oppert in the 19th century reasoned that "skōlex" referred to a like-sounding word in the Indian language, and was convinced the word was "culukī" () for "fish" or "porpoise". In his opinion, the word could refer even to a "crocodile" by extension. Scholar Erik Seldeslachts, in a 1998 paper, has suggested parallel with "kṛmiḥ" () which has the duel meaning of "worm" and a name
Indus worm of a nāgarāja or "serpent king". Ctesias's "Indica" described the worm or "skōlex" () as the only creature to inhabit the Indus. It resembled the worm which infested figs, but averaged 7 cubits (45.75 cm) in length. It had a pair of large teeth, one on the upper jaw and one on the lower. The teeth were square, measuring 1 "pygōn" in the Ancient Greek scale of length, about 15 inches long. It burrowed in the mud bottom by day, and nocturnally devoured prey such as horses, cows, donkeys or camels. Philostratus, reporting on the creature of the same river