Typosyllis nipponica
Description 3
This small worm is common among the mussel beds and under hard substrate almost anywhere in the lake. It was introduced from Japan (Mooi et al., 2006) at an unknown date, but was well-established in the Bay as early as 1990 (Harris, 2014). Mooi et al. (2006) write
Easily recognized by yellow-greenish color and dark band of proventriculus visible through integument of sixth segment. This often allows for identification with only a hand lens. To 60 mm long.
You can see this dark band on the left side of the first image here.
Biology 3
These species reproduces by forming an epitoke, a clonal growth on the posterior end of the body filled with eggs and sperm that eventually detaches and swims to the surface to release its payload. The original worm remains alive and can produce more epitokes (Harris, 2014). The larger, browner individual photographed here is actually an epitoke, but you can often find worms with epitokes that have not detached.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
- (c) Damon Tighe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Damon Tighe
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNat Map
| Category | Worms |
|---|---|
| Region of origin | Japan |
