Check it out! When sorting through some low intertidal samples looking for ribbon worms, Maddy spotted this tiny polychaete worm. It was only ~2 mm long, and it was brooding embryos along its back!
For orientation, look for the red eyes at the anterior end.
Before this, we hadn't known that some marine worms use this life history strategy. (It reminded me of the frogs that brood embryos on their backs.) The embryos undergo direct development, i.e., they'll continue to develop on their mother's back until they're tiny juvenile worms.
Meet Salvatoria sp.!
Many thanks to Maddy for spotting this fascinating worm, to Eric for taking photos, and to Leslie for help with the identification.
No comments:
Post a Comment