Nudibranch ? from North Carolina

July 4, 2005
From: Robert Todd

I noticed the orange and yellow organism behind the Christmas Tree Worm in the attached photo after I surfaced. Can someone identify the species? The photo was taken at about 24 meters depth, on a WWII wreck just east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, US.

Locality: Wreck of Caribe Sea. North Carolina, USA. Atlantic Ocean. Depth: 24 meters. Length: Approx. 3 cm. 18 June 2005. Photographer: Robert Todd

Thanks!
Robert Todd

robert_todd@hotmail.com

Todd, R.E., 2005 (Jul 4) Nudibranch ? from North Carolina. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14170

Dear Robert,
The Christmas Tree Worm,  Spirobranchus, belongs to the polychaete worm  family Serpulidae. Serpulid worms live in a calcareous tube and all we normalyy see of them is the feeding and breathing 'feather duster' they display. This delicate and vital part of the wroms anatomy is rapidly withdrawn when the worm is startled and the worm's tube is protected by a door [operculum] which tightly closes after the feather duster withdraws. What you think may be a slug is the stalk and operculum of the worm. There are some pinkish white hook-like structures at the flattened end. These are spines on the operculum which face out when the 'door' is shut.  The decoration on the operculum differs between species.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jul 4). Comment on Nudibranch ? from North Carolina by Robert Todd. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14170

Factsheet

Polychaete Worms (Bristle worms)

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