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Nemertea is a phylum of animals also known as ribbon worms or proboscis worms, consisting of about 1300 known species. [2] [3] Most ribbon worms are very slim, usually only a few millimeters wide, although a few have relatively short but wide bodies. Many have patterns of yellow, orange, red and green coloration.
The majority of enoplan ribbon worms are marine and benthic, but there are approximately 100 named and described species of pelagic nemerteans. These creatures inhabit the water column of the world oceans, commonly found at depths of between a few hundred feet and several thousand feet, and they are most abundant at 2,130 to 8,200 ft (625 to ...
This ribbon worm is a detritivore and grazer. [1] It is rather fragile, and any attempt to collect it is likely to end with the worm breaking in pieces. [2] However, it is able to regenerate itself from any fragment that is at least half as long as the worm's diameter; each piece can develop into a complete new worm in three to four weeks. [2]
The bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus) is a species of ribbon worm and one of the longest known animals, with specimens up to 55 m (180 ft) long being reported. [1] Its mucus is highly toxic. [ 2 ]
Like other ribbon worms, C. marginatus is a predator. The proboscis is able to be turned inside out to grasp prey and the diet consists of such invertebrates as clams and polychaete worms. [3] As well as burrowing, it can swim well, undulating its body up and down, and sometimes rotating as it does so. [2]
The sexes are separate in this species. The females lay eggs which are fertilised externally and develop directly into juvenile worms. [2] This ribbon worm is diurnal and makes little attempt to avoid predation. It is possible that its bright red colouration is aposemetic, giving warning that this particular ribbon worm is toxic or unpalatable. [6]
Anopla (for changes in taxonomy, see reference from 2019) has long been used as name for a class of marine worms of the phylum Nemertea, characterized by the absence of stylets on the proboscis, the mouth being below or behind the brain, and by having separate openings for the mouth and proboscis.
Cerebratulus lacteus, the milky nemertean or milky ribbon worm, is a proboscis worm in the family Lineidae. This ribbon worm has a wide geographical range on both sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean.