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Re: OK, what's this thing?





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Posted by Leslie on April 22, 2007 at 22:28:10:

In Reply to: OK, what's this thing? posted by Roger on April 06, 2007 at 16:07:00:

Worm, but not flat. This is a polychaete worm in the family Nereididae which includes the common pile worms & rag worms used for bait. The animal in the video is an epitoke which is a sexually mature animal which has a modified body to get it up into the water column for spawning. They swim very fast; at spawning the males shimmy around the females in tight circles until they both expel their eggs & sperm. Species that become highly modified die; the ones that undergo partial transformation may return to the body & survive for another spawning. There's some info & a picture of one at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epitoke_parapodium



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