Has anyone ever seen this before?

[awpong]

Mystery is has been solved. Thanks to WWM, this little guy has been identified as a Sabellariid (family Sabellariidae) in the genus Lygdamis.

 

Here's a cool paper they sent me describing the anatomy, habitat, and behavior of these worms:

https://repositorio.uac.pt/bitstream/10400....i_Nunez_17A.pdf

[ciaobella]

Very cool!! Neat to think you have something in your tank that nobody has ever really seen and only comes from one area of the world.

[awpong]

Very cool!! Neat to think you have something in your tank that nobody has ever really seen and only comes from one area of the world.

 

Yea he's pretty unique all right.

 

I've been doing a lot of research on this guy recently (instead of studying for finals... but it's all right, I've already been accepted into med school ), and it appears that even worm experts rarely see living examples of this genus.

 

This is from a worm expert at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County:

"As far as I know it's an undescribed species in the family Sabellariidae, maybe genus Lygdamis. Sabellariids construct solid tubes out of sand. This one is solitary in soft sand; other solitaries attach themselves to shells or rocks. The famous worm reefs in Europe are made by a colonial cousin, Sabellaria alveolata. These reefs can extend for hundreds of meters & be a couple of meters high. See:

http://www.marlin.ac...veolata.htm#OIm

 

You're right about it filtering suspended food particles out of the water. The two "jaws" are soft structures called palps which pick up the food. When the animals are preserved - usually the only way taxonomists see them - the palps are tightly retracted against the body & appear to be just a clump of fine filaments. I didn't have a clue that they extended out like this until someone sent me a UW pic several years ago. I wasn't even sure it was a polychaete until he finally sent a specimen as well."

[Acielot]

... I have seen one before but its cousin I guess. At Bathtub Reef, the rock formations are made of sabellarid worm shells.They don't look as large though.

[matty0206]

Damn that's cool. It has a great home in your tank. If you ever break the tank down you should donate it to a museum or aquarium.

[Islandoftiki]

So, if it's previously undescribed, you should be able to get it named after you.

[Acielot]

So, if it's previously undescribed, you should be able to get it named after you.

The awpong worm?

[awpong]

So, if it's previously undescribed, you should be able to get it named after you.

The awpong worm?

 

Haha, I'd only get to name it if it was truly a new and undescribed species.

 

According to the EOL, there are 22 named species of this genus. Unfortunately, there are no pictures to accompany most of them. I've only found pictures of two of these species (L. japonicus and L. wirtzi), neither of which match my guy.

 

The only way to tell for sure would be to go look at all of the type specimens in person and then compare morphologies.

[tinctorus]

I'm sorry, I started to watch your video and then got distracted by the video of "Porter the driving dog" they taught a dog how to drive a mini cooper, They made special hand/paw controls for him to control the gas/brake and he also can turn the car since they have him driving in a circle track LOL

 

[TeflonTomDosh]

I'm sorry, I started to watch your video and then got distracted by the video of "Porter the driving dog" they taught a dog how to drive a mini cooper, They made special hand/paw controls for him to control the gas/brake and he also can turn the car since they have him driving in a circle track LOL

 

haha nice. now can porter go to the store to get me some cigs? k thanks

[Belac]

Time for you to start calling experts and seeing if they want to come see it.

[awpong]

Time for you to start calling experts and seeing if they want to come see it.

 

Haha maybe. One museum employee has already asked if she could use the photo as a reference for the future.

[metrokat]

Way cool!

[awpong]

I just sent an email to Eijiroh Nishi, the world's leading expert on Sabellariids, to see if he can identify which species this is. He and his predecessor discovered and named almost all of the known Lygdamis species, so I'm interested in hearing what he has to say about this guy.

[Belac]

I hope it is a new species. Now we wait to find out.

[lakshwadeep]

Awesome!

[awpong]

I still haven't gotten a response email from the guy, but someone that knows him sent me this:

 

Ejiroh's an expert on sabellariids but he only described 2 of the 20+ species in the genus. Most of them have never been seen alive so he may not be able to match your photo to a known species. And I bet you anything that he'll want the worm to play with! :-D

 

So I might never know if this guy is a new species or not :'(

 

I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

[Belac]

I suspect the least you did was make that expert super excited about the picture and video. I wish we could see his reaction when he sees it for the first time. Espically if he hasn't seen this kind before. Keep us posted on what he says.

[lakshwadeep]

Yeah, it's likely the vast majority of species are undocumented. He might be able to identify it down to the genus, but often that requires microscopic examination.