I love worms. No, not intestinal worms.
Not earth worms. Worms in the ocean! There are many different types of
worms in the ocean, and it may surprise you to hear them described as
beautiful and even fun. Most people only focus on the mega-fauna
(dolphins, whales, sharks…big sea creatures) and many of the little guys
get overlooked. That’s why I thought it would be fun to let you know
how awesome the little guys are too!
Some of my favorites worms are very
common and can be found on any coral reef: Christmas tree worms, feather
duster worms, and spaghetti worms. Believe it or not, if you’ve ever
been snorkeling our diving on a coral reef, you’ve probably swam over
hundreds of them.
 | |
| Christmas Tree Worms |
Christmas tree worms, sometimes known as
plume worms, embed themselves into hard corals such as brain corals or
star corals. Most of their bodies are not visible, except for their
plumes which resemble two tiny little brightly colored Christmas trees
with spiral trunks. They come in almost any color you can imagine. They
use their plumes to catch food, tiny particles of plankton that happen
to float by. You can wave your hand near them or snap your fingers and
they will disappear, retracting their plumes into the coral. They do
this because sudden water movement alerts them that a predator may be
dangerously close. If you are patient and watch for a minute or so, you
will see them slowly extend their plumes again and their two little
Christmas trees will “grow” back.
 |
| Feather Duster Worm |
Feather duster worms are in the tube worm
family, and are similar to Christmas tree worms. Instead of two tiny
Christmas trees, though, they stick out their feather duster to catch
plankton. Their feather dusters are round, and typically between one to
three inches in diameter. They are also lots of fun to snap at and
then watch “grow” back.
 |
| Spaghetti Worm |
Spaghetti worms typically live on a sandy
or rubble substrate, and take shelter underneath a hard coral or a
rock. They have many long, sticky appendages that resemble clear rice
noodles. They stretch them out in all directions to catch their tiny
food. If you gently touch them with your finger they contract and all
of the “spaghetti” gets sucked in underneath the coral or rock.
I hope next time you have the opportunity
to snorkel or scuba dive on a coral reef you will take your time and go
nice and slow to you can see and enjoy these tiny little wonders of the
ocean.
Photo credits:
- Christmas tree worms – alumroot
- Feather duster worm – TonyShihctgintl
- Spaghetti worms – wildsingapore
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