Upon touching its head, this creature instantly “spins” a white silk resembling tree roots, which frightens many people.
Recently, a video clip showcasing a strange creature has gone viral on TikTok. The clip reveals that this creature has a soft body, resembling a leech but is pink in color.
The creature spinning silk that frightens many people.
The creature is crawling on a man’s hand. Notably, when this man touches the creature’s head, it releases a slimy substance that resembles silk. The silk is a milky white color, spraying out in a manner akin to tree roots.
Within just one day of being posted, the clip of this strange creature garnered 5.3 million views and thousands of comments. Most viewers were horrified upon seeing the creature spin silk, with some speculating that the slimy substance it exudes might be toxic, while others quickly assigned it quirky names like ice worm, ice slug, etc. So, what exactly is this creature?
According to Earth Touch News, this creature is a ribbon worm (scientific name: Nemertea), belonging to the invertebrate phylum. It is also known by other names such as Nemertini, Nemertinea, and Rhynchocoela. Scientific literature records approximately 1,149 different species of ribbon worms described and classified into 250 genera. Most of them are less than 20 cm long, and their bodies are typically very slimy.
Most ribbon worm species are found at the ocean floor, but some species inhabit freshwater and terrestrial environments. They often expel a white, root-like slime to ensnare their prey. Although this is quite eerie, their slime is completely non-toxic.
In Vietnam, this creature is also known as hà su or trùng bẹ. They are commonly used as bait for sea fishing.
The first recorded mention of ribbon worms was in 1555 by Olaus Magnus, who described a sea worm measuring 17.76 meters long, as wide as a child’s arm, which caused swelling upon contact. In 1758, William Borlase wrote about a “long sea worm,” and in 1770, Gunnerus officially described this peculiar creature under the name Ascaris longissima. In 1806, Sowerby officially named this strange organism Lineus longissimus.
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