another "what is it!"

[Brighteyes_13]

found this creeping out from behind some liverock, at first i thought a pale bristle worm, then i noticed it was getting much longer, and the things on the side of the body were actually legs like a cattepillar.

got a few decent pics, it stretched about 4 inches out of the rock with the end not in sight. it has a flat head/beak looking front.... the pics tell the rest...




any guesses on my several million legged hitchhiker?

[Brighteyes_13]

i should also add, it visibly has a head, with eyes (i think), its responsive to movement (recoils under the rock), and the legs move in a paristaltic fashion like a catterpillar or centipede

[Matt]

Standard, government issue, bristle worm.

[Brighteyes_13]

i wasnt aware bristle worms have legs... i thought they only had spiney/puffy protrusions from their sides...

this one has millipede-esque legs that move and grip

[Joe Reefer]

Originally Posted by Matt

Standard, government issue, bristle worm.

Government issue thats funny. Here is a little article on bristle worms, you might find it useful.

[Brighteyes_13]

ive been looking on WWM to get an idea, from this site here (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-03/rs/index.php) it shows quite a different head then what i have seen on this worm... are there other species with different heads?

the one in the picture has a disc like head with visible eyes at the back of it, it has no antanae

[Joe Reefer]

Third sentence in: "This group of animals is diverse, with over 10,000 species known, and undoubtedly many thousands of species are remaining to be discovered and scientifically described."