The new species belongs to the heteronemerte order, the same group that includes the animal that holds the longest record in the world.
A kind of newly discovered worm, Stop vigaraesurprised scientists with their remarkable ability to compress your body up to just one fifth of his total length, which earned him the nickname of “Watercraft”. This worm, recently presented to science, was discovered off the Northwest Coast of Spain And it presents both a unique physical characteristics and a moving story.
The name of the worm was given by the investigators as Golden Rosa Vigara, wife of the main author of the study. The discovery and attribution of the name were led by Aida Verdes, from the Madrid National Museum of Natural Sciences, and the results were recently in the Royal Society Open Science magazine.
In total extension, the bread Measures about 25 centimetersbut its ability to get dramatically contractically make it an unusual species, even among its elastic relatives. It belongs to the heteronemertea order, a group that also includes Lineus Longissimus, the holder of the Guinness world record for the longest known animal, says.
What distinguishes this worm, according to green, is the Presence of epidermal rings or constrictions that remain visible even when the animal is completely stretched – an unusual characteristic not observed in other species of heteronemertea. Interestingly, species of a different evolutionary lineage, hoplonemertea, have similar anatomical characteristics, suggesting that these characteristics can be the result of a converging evolution.
Beyond your accordion -shaped trick, Stop vigarae It is also a skillful predator Since, as a member of the nemertea phylum, he uses poison to disable his prey. Green and their team are actively investigating the toxins used by Nemerteans to understand their evolutionary development and potential applications.
The worm was discovered in SUBSTAL ZONES OF GALICIAthe depths of about 30 meters, a region already known for a rich diversity of nemertean species due to extensive scientific sampling.
As Green Refers, “we continue to find new species for science with unique behaviors.”
