Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Ruler worm?

Okay, I don't know the identity of this worm yet, but it's too interesting not to post a picture, and perhaps someone out there can help with the identification.  Eric and I have seen a few of them recently in the low intertidal zone on Bodega Head.


This worm is fairly small, ~4 cm long and only a few millimeters wide.  You can see the metallic silver coloration and the very regular black striping (reminiscent of a ruler!).  Note that both the anterior (head) and posterior (tail) ends are patterned slightly differently than the middle section.

Here are two close-ups of the head end:



If you have any thoughts about the identification, or just want to join in on praising this worm, feel free to submit a comment!

P.S.  You could also suggest a possible common name for the worm.  Ruler Worm? (for the tick marks)  Piano Worm? (for the resemblance to black-and-white keys)

3 comments:

  1. Addidas worm (RUN DMC, "Black and white, white with black stripes...the kind I like to wear when I rock the mic."

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  2. p.s. The word of the day was Whangdoodle: a fanciful creature of undefined nature.

    I think this word could define a lot of the amazing marine animals :)

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