Which animal is the longest? Detailed answer

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Which animal is the longest? Detailed answer

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Did you know?

Which animal is the longest?

Not a blue whale. Excuse me.

And not the hairy jellyfish cyanide.

Correct Answer: Tapeworm, aka Lineus longissimus. This worm can reach a length of sixty meters, which is twice the length of the blue whale and a third longer than the longest hairy jellyfish, the previous record holder.

A tapeworm can be laid out from one end of the Olympic pool to the other - and there is still a bit left in reserve.

Tapeworms belong to the group of lower nemertean worms (from the Greek Nemertes, "sea nymph"). To date, more than a thousand species are known, most of which are marine. They are long and thin: even the longest tapeworm can be only a couple of millimeters in diameter.

Many sources claim that the tapeworm reaches only 30 m, which means that it does not reach the hairy jellyfish in any way. However, the most recent information speaks of the extraordinary ability of tapeworms to stretch in length. So, in several cases, specimens were recorded whose length "in full growth" was more than 50 m.

Judging by the age of the fossil remains, the tapeworm has lived on Earth for at least 500 million years.

Tapeworms do not have a heart - blood is pumped by muscles - and they are the simplest of all organisms, having a mouth and anus are two different things.

Tapeworms are real predators, and extremely voracious. To pierce and "stun" the prey (tiny crustaceans), the tapeworm shoots a long and thin tube - sticky or equipped with tiny poisonous hooks. Such a tube can be three times longer than the body of the worm itself.

Most tapeworms blend in with the darkness of the ocean depths, but some, on the contrary, are very brightly colored.

Nemerteans are able to fully regenerate if damaged. And some of the tapeworms reproduce by dividing into small parts, each of which subsequently grows into a new worm.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

How did you start wearing gloves?

Wearing gloves is a very old custom. They were invented by ancient people who lived in cold regions. Gloves are known to have been worn by the ancient Persians and Romans. The Odyssey says that one of the heroes of this poem used gloves while working in the garden.

In the old days, gloves were made only of leather and were worn mainly during war and hunting to protect hands. But in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, almost every inhabitant of Germany and the Scandinavian countries wore gloves in winter. Women began to wear gloves as decoration from the XNUMXth century. They were usually made of linen and were long, up to the elbows.

Years later, Queen Elizabeth brought jeweled and embroidered gloves into fashion. Kid gloves first appeared in France during the reign of Louis XIV. French women in those days wore gloves knitted from silk thread.

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