Ribbon worm Caught By Fisherman In Taiwan

A man fishing in Taiwan named Wei Cheng Jian captured footage of a long green worm-like animal with a pink protrusion that looks like another worm crawling out of it.

The creepy creature is believed to be a ribbon worm, or nemertea, according to the Telegraph.

The ribbon worm typically lives at sea but has been known to crawl onto land.

According to the Independent, the pink worm-like appendage that appears to have a mind of its own is called a proboscis, which the worm uses to obtain food.

Smithsonian reports that when attacking prey, the ribbon worm will compress its body to push out the proboscis, “like the finger of a latex glove turned inside-out.”

The proboscis of some types of ribbon worms are sticky, while some have suckers for grasping prey and others have a spike for stabbing, Smithsonian said.

News.Com reports that ribbon worms average 7.9 inches long. While there is no size given for the one in the video, the fishing pole next to it suggests it’s roughly two to three feet long.

Some types of ribbon worms are much longer. According to Guinness World Records, a species of ribbon worm known as the bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus) is the longest of all worms. A specimen that washed ashore in the U.K. in 1864 was measured at 180 feet in length.

For more on the ribbon worm, Smithsonian has a list of 14 facts about the creature.