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I mean, they spent their entire lives in the maybe the most barren desert in the galaxy, right? There wasn't much to eat. How did they get to be so large? Has there ever been any discussion of this in the "Dune canonical literature?

bob.sacamento
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    Maybe related to this question from 8 years ago https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/96661/what-do-the-dune-sandworms-eat – Danny Mc G Jan 29 '24 at 00:23
  • The entire planet is a desert so their feeding grounds are effectively infinite and they have no natural enemies and they will grow until they die. The population is not that large and they don't seem to compete within themselves. – Paulie_D Jan 29 '24 at 00:50
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    Could get a similar answer for blue whales –  Jan 29 '24 at 01:10
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    @user14094230 Not really, blue whales live in an ocean full of huge patches of krill. The ocean is vast, but it's decidedly not a desert. – Misha R Jan 29 '24 at 01:20
  • There are seemingly desert like parts of the ocean. Clearly there are patches of plankton the worms eat, like blue whales. Clearly they must have enough food. –  Jan 29 '24 at 01:29
  • Your last question might be valid on its own. I expect the biology questions will be tagged as equivalent to what they eat and be closed. As with any fiction you have to assume there must be enough to make the universe work as seen - in this case food in the sand despite your not seeing the food. Likewise for the physical problems of being that big. I don't think it's possible but I accept it regardless of no one in universe or out knowing why. – lucasbachmann Jan 29 '24 at 04:09
  • @user14094230 "Clearly they must have enough food" isn't really an answer to where that food comes from. That's no different from a question asking "how do Fremen survive," and the answer being "clearly, somehow." Not really the sort of discussion that works on here. – Misha R Jan 29 '24 at 19:32

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