Posted on 08/05/2022 8:00:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
The bizarre pom-pom creature is yet to be officially named.
An image of the unnamed spaghetti worm from the newly released MBARI video. (Image credit: 2012 MBARI)
A bizarre seafloor creature covered with luminous orange, spaghetti-like tentacles recently made its internet debut in newly released video footage. The unusual pom-pom-shaped creature is actually a type of segmented marine worm known as a polychaete, and it belongs to an appropriately named group: spaghetti worms.
Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) captured footage of the pasta-mimicking worm in 2012 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), while they were exploring the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico. They released the video(opens in new tab) July 1 on MBARI's YouTube channel to celebrate World Polychaete Day.
This particular species of spaghetti worm has yet to be officially named, but it belongs to the genus Biremis. It has no eyes or gills and uses its colorful tentacles to catch the tiny pieces of organic detritus, also known as marine snow, that it feeds on, according to an MBARI statement(opens in new tab).
Most spaghetti worms live in burrows or tunnels below the seafloor and only poke their noodle-like tentacles into the water to snatch up bits of food. But this Biremis worm spends its life above ground and has previously been observed swimming through the water or crawling along the seafloor to find locations where food is plentiful, according to MBARI.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
21 posts.....................we’re getting slow................
Ahh, Monterey's coast means something to you!
I’d like to see it one day on my motorcycle.......................
Now what size, the head of a pin? :)
Jim Thompson.
Or just The Wig Worm.
Only a matter of time before it migrates to dry land and starts feeding. We're all doomed. I blame climate change. And Trump.
Nah, thumbnail. Eli Harari was at Intel when I was there.
He did good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk
Name already allotted. Done.
Tribbles
This topic was posted , thanks Red Badger.
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