Few people have heard of nemertines, let alone encountered them in the wild, and yet they can be found widely in damp, dark places across Britain and Ireland (and are undoubtedly under-recorded). Here, Hugh D. Jones provides an introduction to the remarkable biology, and the mysteries surrounding the identity and origins, of the three land-dwelling nemertines known from Britain.
Nemertines (or nemerteans, phylum Nemertea) are a group of ‘worms’, sometimes called ribbon worms or proboscis worms. Most nemertines are marine but some live in freshwater, and there are about 15 terrestrial species, three in Britain and Ireland, living in damp or wet habitats on land.