#bootlace worm

[worm-facts]

Big guy

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Lace Up with the Bootlace Worm

Appropriately named, the bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus) is a species of ribbon worm, which are known for their long, slender bodies. The bootlace worm in particular is often credited with being the longest species in this group, and perhaps one of the longest known animals in the world. Though they're only about 5 to 10 mm (0.20 to 0.39 in) around, most bootlace worms can be anywhere from 10 to 15 m (32 to 49 ft) long. Some reports of individuals as long as 30 to 55 m (98 to 180 ft) have been recorded, but few have been confirmed. L. longissimus is relatively uniform in appearence, with a dark purple or brown body and few distinct facial features.

Like most other ribbon worms, the bootlace worm is a marine species. They're most often found along the coasts of northern Europe, especially washed up on beaches or in tide pools. L. longissimus has a fairly basic anatomy; it has no heart or spine, and a simple digestive system. They feed opportunistically on a variety of other invertebrates, including mussels, clams, annelids, and crustaceans, as well as animal carcasses. When a bootlace worm encounters a potential meal, it expels a special feeding structure called the "proboscis" from a special pouch inside its mouth. The force that propels the probiscis towards its prey also turns it inside out. Once they find their prey, the bootlace worm latches on and injects a neurotoxin that paralyses or kills its target. When L. longissimus itself becomes prey, typically by larger crustaceans or fish, it secretes a toxin-filled mucus from its skin that impairs the predators and allows the worm to escape-- much like another worm-like creature, the hagfish.

Little is known about L. longissimus's reproductive biology. The group it belongs to, ribbon worms, are highly variable and have distinct male and female sexes, or individuals can carry the gonads of both. Sexually reproductive ribbon worms often release eggs and sperm into the water, where they fertilize and become microscopic larvae. Ribbon worms, including the bootlace worm, can also split into segments when disturbed; each segment then has the ability to fully regenerate an entire body. The lifespan of the bootlace worm is also unknown, although it's likely only 1-2 years, like most other ribbon worms.

Conservation status: The bootlace worm has not been evaluated by the IUCN. However, as it is primarily found along coasts and in tide pools, populations are likely stable barring extreme habitat disturbance or pollution.

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Photos

Cédric Audibert

Sion Roberts

João Pedro Silva via iNaturalist

[sciencenewsforstudents]

Chemicals from the world’s longest animal can kill cockroaches

The stuff in this sea worm’s slime can kill off green crabs, too.

Bootlace worms boast spooky-stretchy bodies. Their secret: They also secrete a family of toxins new to science. These poisons might one day inspire novel ways to control noxious pests, such as cockroaches.

Tests first identified the toxins in the mucus coating one bootlace species. It holds the record as the world’s longest animal, notes Ulf Göransson. At Uppsala University in Sweden, he studies medical products that come from natural sources. This champion marine worm, Lineus longissimus, can stretch up to 50 meters (164 feet). That’s longer than an Olympic-size pool. The worm coats itself in mucus that smells a bit like iron or sewage. This goo holds small toxic proteins that have now been dubbed nemertides. Those poisons also have shown up in 16 other species of bootlace worms.

Göransson and his colleagues shared their discovery March 22, 2018 in Scientific Reports.

These nemertides poison by attacking some of the tiny channels in cell walls. These channels control the flux — flow rate — of sodium moving in and out of a cell. Much vital cell business depends on the right flux through these sodium channels, as they’re called. Among that important business: cell-to-cell communication.

The researchers injected small amounts of one nemertide into invasive green crabs (Carcinus maenas). The toxin permanently paralyzed or killed these animals.

“This study certainly has a lot of novelty to it, since marine worms are a tremendously neglected area of venom research,” says Bryan Grieg Fry. He works at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. There, he explores how animal poisons appear to have evolved.

Unlike earthworms, the 1,300 or so species of bootlace — or ribbon — worms have no segments. Some scientists give these animals their own branch, call Nemertea, on the animal family tree. Bootlace worms have a brain but no lungs. Like many other slender marine creatures, these worms breathe directly through the skin. They predators that dine on crustaceans, mollusks and other worms.

One has to marvel at how they can expand and contract their bodies. A 10-meter [33 foot] L. longissimus “can be held in your hand as a slimy heap,” notes study coauthor Malin Strand. She’s a marine biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala. She estimates these worms could live 10 years “or maybe much longer.”

How bootlace worms use their toxins isn’t clear. The stringy creatures aren’t easy to keep in captivity for study, Strand says. She has some worms in her lab that have chosen to eat no more than once in three to four years.

Göransson proposes that their toxic mucus might make a useful defense. He has seen videos with the worms stretched upon the seafloor. “If you’re a crab or a fish, it must be tempting to take a nip,” he says. However, there’s little sign of anything pestering these worms.

He once tried some bare-handed contact with a small lab specimen. He didn’t feel much of anything. He’s been warned, though, about “tingling.” Just in case, Göransson now wears gloves.

[kiyotakaishimaru-official]

Factember #4

The longest animal in the world (not largest, just longest) is the Bootlace Worm, which can be up to 180 feet long. They can be found along Britain and Norway's coasts in the Atlantic ocean.

Photo under the cut:

[larval]

Bootlace worm

This is Lineus longissimus, a nemertean known as the bootlace worm. It's one of the longest animals in the world. A specimen caught in Scotland after a storm is thought to have been almost 60 meters long. Although this might be an exceptional case, there's enough evidence that these can reach about 30 meters (the length of a blue whale).

Reference:

https://brunovellutini.com/posts/lineus-longissimus-longest-animal/

Source:

File:Nemertean Lineus longissimus.tif - Wikimedia Commons

[rorymanceryiik]

Man screw this i wanna be a bootlace worm

[deadwolfedge]

So I saw venom trending on Twitter and I was wondering if they were making a venom 2. Right, okay

But since it’s 2020, of course it’s not about the possible miracle blessing of a seconded venom. But it was actually venom

Bruh,

So apparently that thing is a bootlace worm and is INCREDIBLELY TOXIC. So no touching ;)

[gabis2r]

Bootlace Worm. (also known as the Ribbon Worm)

They can grow to twice as long as a blue Whale.  Longer even than the Lion's Mane Jellyfish.  

In fact, the Lineus longissimus is the World's Longest Animal at 180ft. (55m)

Click through for more info.