Taxon Description (Wikipedia)
The
bootlace worm (
Lineus longissimus) is in the phylum Nemertea or ribbon worms. It is one of the longest animals known, with specimens up to long being reported. They may grow as long as , which would make it the longest animal in the world. They are however usually only in width. The body is brown with lighter (longitudinal) stripes. It is the most common nemertean found along the coasts of Britain. When handled it produces large amounts of thick mucus with a faint pungent smell. A specimen washed ashore in the aftermath of a severe storm by St Andrews, Scotland, in 1864, had a length of more than , longer than the longest known Lion's mane jellyfish, the animal which is often considered to be the longest in the world. However records of extreme length...
full article at Wikipedia
