Video Of Ribbon Worm Spitting Out Tree-Like Structure Is Not For Faint-Hearted

The world is full of fascinating creatures, each boasting unique biological traits. One such video capturing a remarkable creature, the ribbon worm, has recently gone viral. The undated footage shows a slimy ribbon worm crawling across a man’s hand and extending a tree-like structure known as a proboscis. This proboscis is used by the ribbon worm to ensnare its prey, which it then pulls towards its mouth and consumes whole. Remarkably, ribbon worms can capture and eat prey up to three times their own size.

A popular X account shared the video of the ribbon worm shooting its proboscis. So far, this clip has over three lakh views.

In the comments, many people expressed awe as well the feelings of fear and disgust towards the strange-looking worm. An X user wrote, “My skin crawls seeing this, it looks like it’s gonna get under my skin.”

Someone else joked, “Well, this isn’t going to give anyone nightmares.”

An X user observed, “Imagine being the first dude to try this. Probably thought it was an alien.”

Another person joked, “Need to stop holding these things before they develop a taste for people.”

As per the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a majority of known nemertean species or ribbon worms are found in marine habitats. Some of them are also found in freshwater or on land. These worms are very rare to spot. Other than hunting the prey, the worms also shoot proboscis in a bid to defend themselves. As per Mental Floss magazine, it is likely that the worm in the above mentioned video was trying to defend itself after being held by a person.

Many ribbon worms are poisonous and contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful venom that can cause paralysis and death by asphyxia. These worms also have the ability to regenerate when a predator injures their body or takes a bite out of their body. Researchers do not know how old ribbon worms are. Since they are boneless, they never leave any fossil record. This makes it hard to establish their evolution or date their presence on Earth.