Dec 15, 2025
Today we have yet another instance of I Really Like Green Worms. Unidentified nereid.
Photo by Yolanda Evans
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Today we have yet another instance of I Really Like Green Worms. Unidentified nereid.
Photo by Yolanda Evans
The everted proboscis and jaws of a nereid worm (Nereididae sp.) in French Polynesia - Pōrīnetia farāni
by Arthur Anker
Taxonomy Tournament: Annelids
Eunicida. This order of benthic marine worms includes the Bobbit Worm aka the sand-striker
Phyllodocida. This order of marine worms are mostly benthic, but some, like the Gossamer worm, live in the open ocean
Which clade of animals is better?
Eunicida
Phyllodocida
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This is Aphrodita aculeata, also known as the sea mouse! It is a species of bristle worm that possesses brilliantly bright hair-like structures known as setae. Unlike mammalian hairs (which are made of keratin), setae are composed of chitin. These setae are actually hollow tubes composed of hexagonal cylinders; the structure of the setae allows for their spines to reflect visible light with a reflectivity of 100% to the human eye. This is why it appears so vividly kaleidoscopic. The scales covering its back are its elytra which are not actually morphologically equivalent or even related to the elytra possessed by beetles.
They typically grow between 10-20 centimetres long, and their main diet consists of other annelid worms and crabs. They were noted by researchers to devour prey up to three times its size head first: Gunnar Thorson was quoted as saying that it was similar "to a hedgehog swallowing a snake". They were also noted to only feed when their head was underneath the sand (its preferred state of being), and it would only eat at night.
Unlike many other bristle worms, the sea mouse moves itself forward in a "fast stepping pattern" instead of a more undulating motion.
Its setae have a potential use in the manufacturing of nanowires due to the same properties that produces their iridescence.
Request PDF | A bio-originated porous template for the fabrication of very long, inorganic nanotubes and nanowires | A biopolymer-based temp
The most intense colours displayed in nature result from either multilayer reflectors or linear diffraction gratings1,2,3. Here we investiga
Decay and preservation of polychaetes: taphonomic thresholds in soft-bodied organisms - Volume 19 Issue 1
Request PDF | Functional design and evolution of the polychaete Aphrodite aculeata | The body form of Aphrodite is attributed to its exploit
On the feeding habits of Aphrodita aculeata and commensal polynoids - Volume 60 Issue 3
Request PDF | Review of the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean species of Aphrodita Linnaeus, 1758 and Aphroditella Roule, 1898 (Polychae
Sea mouse (Aphrodita aculeata)
Photo by Jim Anderson
Today's worm is Myrianida pachycera, looking like a gummy dragon.
Photo by Siobhan O'Neill
Polychaete of the day is the emerald green paddle worm (Eulalia clavigera). This thing sure is green and worm.
Photos by Michiel Vos and Julien Bottinelli
Today we have some absolutely incredible photos of a gossamer worm, Tomopteris sp.
Photo Fraser Higgins