Mystery from the Sea of Cortez
July 8, 2002
From: Rick Hennis
This creature came in on some live rock out of the Sea of Cortez. It comes out about 5min after lights out.
Please help me identify.
Thanks,
Rick H.
rickhennis@hotmail.com
Hennis, R., 2002 (Jul 8) Mystery from the Sea of Cortez. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7418Dear Rick,
This is a Nemertean worm (also known as a Ribbon Worm, or Bootlace Worm}. They can grow very long and can change shape from being a short, fat worm to being an extremely long thin worm. Unlike most worms it does not have a mouth is not at the end of its body but has a long proboscis which can shoot out from a pore about a quarter of the way down the body. I think the third 'arm' in your animal is the feeding proboscis.
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
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