diver.net

Re: OK, what's this thing?


Great Dive Trips at Bargain Prices with the Sea Divers


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ California Scuba Diving BBS ] [ FAQ ]

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



Follow Ups:


Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
Message:
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Post Background Color: White     Black
Post Area Page Width: Normal   Full
You must type in the
scrambled text key to
the right.
This is required to
help prevent spam bots
from flooding this BBS.		 capcha
Text Key:

      


diver.net