#bootlace worms

[antikittysocial]

oh. oho. OHOHOHOH. YOU THOUGHT BOBBIT WORMS WERE LONG? YOU THOUGHT THREE METRES WAS LONG? TAPEWORMS CAN BE UP TO TWELVE AND STILL FIT INSIDE YOU. OH? OH? YOU THINK TWELVE IS IMPRESSIVE? YOU THINK THAT'S ALL THAT RIBBON WORMS HAVE TO OFFER? THE BOOTLACE WORM CAN GO UP TO FIFTY FIVE AND HAS TOXIC SNOT. IT'S LITERALLY A LIVING POKEMON. OH AND GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? ITS SCIENTIFIC NAME IS LINEUS LONGISSIMUS. I'M NOT JOKING. THIS CREATURE IS SO FREAKISHLY LONG THAT EVEN ITS SCIENTIFIC NAME MENTIONS THE FEAT. AND JUST. WHAT IN THE WORLD FHSUIGXDBHUIKBGHOUSGBWINDjAHDWHAHHQHAHQAHHDHDHDHHSHAHHAHAHAHQAHEHDSHAHHHQHFSHJBHVXBHSFHKCSDHJSHZXSHSHSBHAHAHAHABBAGAZGASCFADWSXQCZGHWGHZGHAVGVBZGHZAGHAGHAGHAGAGAHJAGHSHJASHJAZHJASHJASJHWVHHAHAYHZGDYUXIDCYGSYUVD NHYSDGEYU47GGTIV5748W7598W739

[antiqueanimals]

The Sea and its Wonders. Written by Mary and Elizabeth Kirby. 1871.

Internet Archive

[histsciart]

Worm Wednesday

Giant bootlace worms (Lineus longissimus) usually grow to 5 to 15 meters (15-50 feet), but they are thought to grow up to 50 meters (164 feet), which would make them the longest animal on Earth. They also secrete neurotoxin-filled mucus when disturbed.  

SciArt from A Monograph of the British Marine Annelids, V.1, P.1 (1873) by William Carmichael McIntosh. View more in Biodiversity Heritage Library thanks to Smithsonian Libraries for digitizing.