Can Anyone Tell Me What This Is--->??????

justinl · #1 01-30-2009, 06:50 AM

peanut worms are... well, worms; they are soft and not stiff at all. and they would retract completely into the hole if you poked it. if it let you poke it at all (unlikely). is this thing freely moving or is it stuck onto the rock? im thinking a tunicate. anyways, chances are, it is harmless. probably more than 99% of hitchhikers are.

Pan · #2 01-30-2009, 07:49 AM

A few taxa possess a calcified plate called the anal shield.?

Jack · #3 01-30-2009, 08:20 AM

Looks like the ass end of a chiton to me but it's hard to tell.

es355lucille · #4 01-30-2009, 05:32 PM

Pan, I read this as well. I believe you are correct. Maybe he will come out some day and I can get a picture for positive identification. Until then, the mystery is interesting. I did'nt realize how many live creatures come along with the LR.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pan

A few taxa possess a calcified plate called the anal shield.?

BCOrchidGuy · #5 01-30-2009, 06:41 PM

I had a peanut worm and it only extended at night, late at night. When the light would hit it, the worm would retract with amazing speed so it took a while to figure it out. If you can set up a small (not bright) light so you can see into the area where it is and check on it a couple times after lights out you may see what it is. My peanut worm would extend out almost a foot and feed like an elephant trunk but like I say, when it retracted, it was almost instant.

Douglas

albert_dao · #6 01-30-2009, 07:09 PM

It's a burrowing mussel. Harmless.

chandigz · #7 01-30-2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albert_dao

It's a burrowing mussel. Harmless.

That was my first thought some sort of bivalve (clam or mussel) Its a little tough to tell from the picture but it looks like you can see the hinge?

es355lucille · #8 01-31-2009, 06:05 AM

Thanks to everyone with the great ideas on what this thing could be. I really not much help here..... I will do what BCOrchidGuy is suggesting and stake it out one of these nights and see if I can catch him coming out. I have never seen it out any farther than you all see it there. If I scare him he goes deep into the rock and it takes it a full day to come back out to this position again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chandigz

That was my first thought some sort of bivalve (clam or mussel) Its a little tough to tell from the picture but it looks like you can see the hinge?