Discover Top Posts Tagged with #polychaete

GORGEOUS GIRLS IN MY AREA???

I followed this lil dude around for like ten minutes. Probably the most beautiful polychaete I’ve ever seen

#polychaete #they are the marine cousins of earthworms and leeches for those unaware

Today's worm is Myrianida pachycera, looking like a gummy dragon.

Photo by Siobhan O'Neill

#syllidae #phyllodocida #polychaeta #annelida #annelid #worm #polychaete #creature #animals #invertebrates #bugblr #bug #i dont know if these count as bugs actually are worms bugs?#marine animals

Whole reason i got tumblr actually. Its so great people have blogs dedicated to this. Ive been thinking of joining in but idk..

#animal identification #polychaete #jellyfish #echinoderm #sea slug

invertober 14, bobbit worm! rainbow edition!!

#bobbit worm #worm #annelid #polychaete #invertober #another one that look longer then i expected lol #was originally going to faithfully color it with the rainbow kept to the highlighting but then i was like fuck it rainbow worm would be fun #and it is #eyestrain

The Sea Mouse: this marine worm's body is fringed by photonic crystals that emit colorful displays of light

The scientific name of this species is Aphrodita aculeata, which is a reference to the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. It's also known as a sea mouse, thanks to its fluffy, almost mammalian appearance, but it's actually a type of marine worm.

Above: the photonic crystals have a color-shifting effect that makes them look almost like fiber-optic threads

The sea mouse is equipped with tufts of hollow, glassy bristles that produce a vibrant iridescence; these structures are known as photonic crystals, and Aphrodita aculeata is one of the few living organisms that is known to produce them.

Above: Aphrodita aculeata

This article explains how the colorful effect is produced:

Each sea mouse is covered in a dense felt of bristles that keep silty sediments away from the gills. But these "hairs" aren't hairs at all. The structures, known as chaetae, are actually modified scales, made largely of chitin, the same material that gives insects like jewel beetles their iridescence.

Each spine is essentially a hollow tube, and the wall of that tube contains 88 perfectly hexagonal chitin cylinders. Acting together, these cylinders form what is known as a "complete spectrum photonic crystal", the first-ever documented in a living organism. Photonic crystals are nanostructures that affect the motion of light travelling through them, and the sea mouse's crystalline spines are the most efficient in nature.

Above: close-ups of the iridescent bristles

According to the same article:

As light hits the system of chitin tubes at different angles, it is spilt, scrambled and bounced back, producing the ever-changing rainbow you see. Light that comes in perpendicular to the spine reflects a deep red. Light coming in from off-axis angles, however, results in brilliant blues and greens.

Amazingly, the spines' ability to bend light surpasses even the most brilliant non-living photonic crystal we know of, the fire opal.

Above: the underbelly of a sea mouse, with a close-up of the "feet" (parapodia) along the sides of each body segment

The purpose of this colorful display is still unclear. Many researchers believe that it is used to deter predators, while others argue that it might help to obscure the sea mouse's silhouette as it moves along the bottom of the sea, making it harder for predators to pinpoint the exact location of its body.

Above: the photonic crystals shimmering as the sea mouse moves around

The genus Aphrodita contains several other species that are commonly known as sea mice, but Aphrodita aculeata is the only one that can produce this iridescence.

Above: the colorful effect is more vibrant when viewed underwater, but it's still visible even on land

Aphrodita aculeata has an average length of about 7-15cm, and it can be found in certain parts of the North Atlantic, the North Sea, the Baltic, the Arctic, and the Mediterranean.

Sources & More Info:

Marine Life Information Network: Aphrodita aculeata

BBC Wildlife: The Sea Mouse is a Psychedelic Fuzz of Fur and Spine, and a Master of Photonic Communications

Acta Zoologica: Hairy and Iridescent Chaetae of the Sea Mouse

The Wildlife Trusts: Sea Mouse

Earth Touch News Network: This Rainbow Wonder is One of the World's Weirdest Worms

The Quekett Microscopial Club: Sea Mouse Hairs

BBC: Sea Mouse Promises Bright Future

dON’t DISTURB THE wORMs

the squiggler

#polychaete worms #polychaete #clam worms (i think)#in one of my labs for an unknown experiment 🔬 idk what class but i want to give them all a smooch and … rescue them maybe #worm #worms #wormposting #marine worms #marine #marine biology #marine life #critter #critterposting #wormblr #🪱#my bucket 🪣

Hello, glad your requests are open again! Can I please get some worms, of various kinds? Thanks so much in advance!

You and I need to have a serious talk about the Nereid worms!!!

Pile Worm, Clam Worm, or Cinder Worm (Alitta succinea), family Nereidae, off the coast of Belgium

photograph by Hans Hillewaert

Sand Worm, Sea Worm, or King Ragworm (Alitta virens), family Nereidae, off the coast of Russia

photograph by Alexander Semenov

Mussel Worm (Nereis vexillosa), family Nereidae, off the coast of BC, Canada

photograph by Marilynne Box

And because you are a platinum level member, and we love ALL polychaetes here, here is a green Sand Mason Worm for you as well...

Green Sand Mason Worm (Lanice viridis), family Terbellidae, Lizard Island, Australia

Described in 2013.