A two-sentence Wikipedia stub that is scarier than anything I've ever seen, read, or heard.

[tisiphone]

Microchaetus rappi is an earthworm in the Microchaetidae family. It is very large, the largest on record being 22 feet (6.7 meters) long.

Comments

[geminigirl]

I'm thinking of Dune when I read this...

[taldragon.livejournal.com]

at least it lives in South Africa (maybe)?

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

If I ever needed a reason to avoid moving to South Africa, this would be it right here.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

The 'micro' in the family name may be being stretched to breaking there.

At least it's pretty skinny.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

I agree. I'd hate to see a specimen of Macrochaetidae.

[jabber.livejournal.com]

Ah, but was it ever cast in a movie opposite Kevin Bacon?

Waitaminute...

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

...

Yes?

[jabber.livejournal.com]

Sorry, couldn't type on account of the tremors.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

*moan*

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, earthworms are just about the most non-threatening of God's creatures.

On the other hand, JESUS FUCK WHAT THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE BIG.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Bunnies are also quite non-threatening, but I would not want a 100-foot tall bunny in my backyard. Similarly, 22-foot earthworm, DO NOT WANT.

[cumaeansibyl.livejournal.com]

Makes for an awesome movie!

I guess a hundred-foot-tall bunny would be able to knock stuff over and squish people, which a 22-foot-long earthworm would be incapable of.

They must have really, really good flowerbeds there, though.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Yes. "This huge worm [...] can weigh over 1.5 kg (3.1 lb)"! Heck, that's as much as a good sized kitten!

[darquis.livejournal.com]

KITTENWORM! I want one. Long and fuzzy and... fanged.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Noodling around, the 'chaetidae' part of the name appears to mean 'bristles'. So a microchaetidae is something with very small bristles.

OK, I think we can call that fur. Or fuzz. All we now need is a veterinarian dentist with a sense of ambition and the fangs will be a cinch.

[heatermcca.livejournal.com]

DO NOT WANT

[zinnea.livejournal.com]

Ok, I'm officially terrified now.

[rhiannon76.livejournal.com]

Now that I've read your post a second time, I'm less afraid actually. Because the first time I read it, I read "earworm" instead of "earthworm" and I was picturing a 22-foot version of those slug things from Wrath of Khan, and ....GAH.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

You know, I didn't think it was actually possible to be more horrified. But now I am.

[rhiannon76.livejournal.com]

Um. Sorry?

[jabber.livejournal.com]

Snakes on a Brain?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

When I say things like that I get Severely Told Off.

[cinema-babe.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's nutritious and tastes like chicken?

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

You should probably stay away from from wtf_nature, then--sometimes super-creepy goodness like that, though more often just strange/wtf/nifty. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

Nifty! It's really long!

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Yes. Extra, extra long.