Bootlace Worm
Bootlace Worm
Invertebrate
The bootlace worm is a ribbon worm of British shores that may be the longest animal on Earth — one stranded giant measured over 55 metres, longer than a blue whale, though it was surely stretched in the measuring.
💡 Fun Facts
- The bootlace worm may be the longest animal on Earth — one that washed up in Scotland in 1864 was measured at over 55 metres, longer than a blue whale.
- That giant was probably stretched far beyond its natural length; most are nearer 5 to 30 metres, though still astonishingly long.
- It lives tangled in knots under rocks and seaweed on British shores, and is thinner than a bootlace.
Name Story
Lineus longissimus
means “the very longest thread”
What does its name mean?
- Lineus — thread-like, line-likeLatin linea 'line, thread'
- longissimus — longestLatin, the superlative of longus 'long'
Its name says it plainly: 'the longest thread'. This ribbon worm is thinner than a bootlace, yet it may be the longest animal on Earth.