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  • This is a tube-like home of a marine polychaete worm in the Pectinariidae family, commonly known as trumpet worms or ice cream cone worms. These worms construct their homes by fitting and gluing together grains of sand. The walls of their home typically comprise a single layer of sand. The head of the worm is situated at the wider end (2cm in diameter in this case) of the tube, which faces down into sediment, with the narrower end protruding above the sediment. The worms forage in the sediment, digging through sand, mud and silt with strong gold-colored spines (setae) while using tentacles to sort through the materials. The worms digest organic particles and excrete pseudofaeces, a stream of undigested inorganic matter wrapped in mucous. This worm hole measured 9cm in length.
    pectinariidae-polychaete-trumpet-wor...tif
  • This is a head-on view of the tube-like home of a marine polychaete worm in the Pectinariidae family, commonly known as trumpet worms or ice cream cone worms. These worms construct their homes by fitting and gluing together grains of sand. The walls of their home typically comprise a single layer of sand. The head of the worm is situated at the wider end (2cm in diameter in this case) of the tube, which faces down into sediment, with the narrower end protruding above the sediment. The worms forage in the sediment, digging through sand, mud and silt with strong gold-colored spines (setae) while using tentacles to sort through the materials. The worms digest organic particles and excrete pseudofaeces, a stream of undigested inorganic matter wrapped in mucous. This worm hole measured 9cm in length.
    pectinariidae-polychaete-trumpet-wor...tif
  • Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) protruding from its burrow in the muck of the Lembeh Strait. Bobbit worms are ambush predators, lunging out to grasp prey with their pincers.
    bobbit-worm-Eunice-aphroditois-lembe...tif
  • Top-down view of a Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) protruding from its burrow in the muck of the Lembeh Strait. Bobbit worms are ambush predators, lunging out to grasp prey with their pincers.
    bobbit-worm-Eunice-aphroditois-lembe...tif
  • Composite image of various Syllidae polychaete worms that gathered around a light at night in order to prey upon smaller animals that had done the same. These worms were less than 1cm in size. All seemed to be carrying eggs. The middle image is of three entangled individuals.
    syllidae-polychaete-worms-with-eggs-...tif
  • This is a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • This is a head-on view of a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • This is a side view of a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • Spawning polychaete worms. The ones pictured here are often called fireworms due to the pain that ensues if you touch the bristles, which contain a neurotoxin. Photographed during a blackwater dive a couple of days prior to the new moon.
    polychaete-worm-spawning-fireworm-br...tif
  • Unidentified aeolid nudibranchs (Favorinus sp.) that appear to be feeding on eggs in a bubble-like egg case. The egg case may be that of a polychaete worm, or possibly a headshield slug of bubble snail (Cephalaspidea). See http://www.tonywublog.com/journal/aeolid-nudibranchs-eating-eggs-of-polychaete-worms for a discussion of this topic. Photographed in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia.
    favorinus-aeolid-nudibranch-eating-p...tif
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