Meet Long Boi, a big (but not the biggest) duck that's become a 'superstar' at the University of York

Meet Long Boi. He's a duck, and he's long. So long, in fact, he's made a splash on Twitter and amassed more than 20,000 Instagram followers amazed by his longness.

Long Boi, who lives on the campus of the University of York in England, waddled onto Twitter and Reddit this week when users claimed Long Boi was the tallest mallard duck to have ever lived.

But Long Boi is not full mallard. According to his Instagram, he is a cross between a mallard and an Indian runner, which is a larger species that can grow as long as 2 feet, 6 inches, according to the Audubon Society. Long Boi's Instagram page says he is about 28 inches tall. So while tall for a mallard duck, Long Boi is of average size compared to other Indian Runner ducks, according to Snopes.

"Despite the claims that he is 'the biggest duck ever to have lived,' he actually stands at just over 70 centimeters (about 27.5 inches), still quite tall compared to our other ducks," said Zoe Duffin, one of two biology students who run the duck's Instagram account.

The humongous duck has become something of a celebrity on the university's campus and even has his own merchandise, including stickers, T-shirts and water bottles. He has been named most popular waterfowl by Bantshire University. His fans send photos and artwork of him to his Instagram page. And tweets about him are worth quacking up over.

Long Boi has been memed across Twitter with some photoshopping him into classic paintings and others putting him in trench coats. Twitter users have called for him to join the Oregon Ducks men's basketball team, declared him king, and questioned his origins.

"He really is quite a superstar," Duffin said.

Duffin told USA Today that Long Boi appeared near the dorms a few years ago and may have been been abandoned as an "unwanted pet." When they first found him, he "looked very lonely and nervous as he didn't fit in with the other ducks to begin with, and seemed to be bullied by them a little," she said.

Duffin started feeding Long Boi every day and posting pictures of him on the Instagram page. And now the duck has flourished, Duffin said.

"He is no longer scared and has integrated in with all our ducks and geese," she said. "He has moved round to a bigger section of the lake with lots of the other birds, where he seems very happy. He is very friendly and will come and say hello in exchange for some bird seed."

The Instagram account even spotted the "Romantic boi taking his Valentine's date for a lakeside stroll" in February. Long Boi's other notable friends include the smaller male Indian Runner duck, Chonky Boi; a couple female mallards; and a male Mandarin duck dubbed Fancy Boi.

Long Boi is not the first viral duck to take the Internet by storm. Before him was the Hot Duck of Central Park, the sewage-dwelling Goth Duck, and the virtuoso Drummer Duck.

"Long boi is incredibly well-loved by both staff and students here at York," Duffin said. "Students are always really excited to see him, feed him and get to take photos of him. He's a real campus A-lister... He really is an iconic part of student life here at York. I think everyone is really proud of Long boi and his newfound fame."

Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.