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| Hi Diane, What a beautiful animal!!!  Those huge tufts of dorsal (noto-) setae are spectacular. Howsoever, it is not like any that I have ever personally examined, I will leave this one to Leslie to give the final word on. As a WAG (wild-assed guess) it may be in a family called the Palmyridae, but as I said... Leslie will give the real answer.
Cheers, Ron
"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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| Thank you, Ron! I knew I could count on you to also find it beautiful! Please pardon my ignorance, but is Leslie someone who will automatically read this thread or someone I need to seek out?  Meanwhile, I have been having fun searching the internet for Palmyridae... --Diane
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| Hi Diane, Leslie is an honest to somebody's gawd polychaete taxonomist who regularly visits this forum and helps to identify some of the oddities we run across. She may be out in the field or busy with some othe project at the moment, but she normally responds to the "magic word" (=polychaete) relatively rapidly. Palymyridae is just a guess. I have no confidence in it being right, it just kinda fits. It was from some old references. I tried searching the www for info and images and was just about wholly unsuccessful. If this was up to me alone, I would have to just say it is "gorgeous and interesting polychaete" and leave it at that. 
Cheers, Ron
"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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Thanks for the info, Ron, and now I'm very glad I put "polychaete" in my subject title.  As to the Palmyridae--one of the first hits I got, http://www.annelida.net/pc-fam.html stated that Palmyridae was a "Monotypic family for Palmyra aurifera, now absorbed into Aphroditidae." (Note--other refs indicated differently...) Well, I searched for images of that species, to no avail. (I liked the "palm" part of the nomenclature, in case it was from the same root as "palmate," which tends to describe the setae I'm seeing...though it might be a completely different root, I suppose!) Meanwhile, I've been seeing lots of pics of Aphroditids--"sea mice"--and they do resemble mine, except for the unusual setae...Certainly the few ventral shots I've seen look exactly like mine... I'd really like to know what this guy eats, as I'm more of a "give it the benefit of the doubt" type than a "nuke it just in case" person. But I've kept it out of the main tank and am afraid it may perish in my temporary holding container... Thanks again, and I will be eagerly awaiting Leslie! --Diane
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Thanks, Ron. Palmyra is pretty good for a WAG and that was one of my first thoughts too. On the other hand, Palmyra is a very small worm, nothing like this. Diane - when you look closely do you see the edges of overlapping translucent scales on the back between the setae? I suspect it's in the genus Pontogenia in the family Aphroditidae. Unlike species of Aphrodita it lacks the felt (fine hairs) that give them the common name of sea mice. Aphroditids are carnivores and possibly scavengers if better food is lacking. They have a set of jaws and go after small worms, small crustaceans, and small molluscs. Anything larger should be safe - and they won't touch corals except perhaps to walk over them. Nice photos by the way!
Cheers, Leslie
Worm Wrangler, NHMLAC
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| Hi Leslie, Thanks! Very cool worm!!!
Cheers, Ron
"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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| Leslie, thank you! To answer your question, I really can't perceive anything plate-like below the setae. (Would such scales be what are called "elytra" in some of the worm lit? When I first ran across that term I thought I'd stumbled into a Coleopteran site by mistake!) My cam is obviously focusing on the setae rather than the surface beneath it, but it still pretty much approximates what I can see...here's a cropped shot of the back: 
I'll put him under my stereomicroscope for a better look... Meanwhile, I'm thinking I really don't want to put it back in my tank. I have nano-tanks, and the micro- (and slightly larger!) fauna are important and probably not enough to support a predator. Sigh. I hate to mention this, but would you be interested in the specimen? I could put it in a vial with some isopropanol. (Or try to ship it live, if you gave me instructions. IME he's pretty hardy.) --Diane
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OK, I put the poor thing under the 'scope, and, the best I can tell, what I see under the setae, at the skin's surface, is basically the sort of segmentation I see on the ventral side, only much fainter & less pronounced. I am not seeing anything that looks like scales, but that doesn't mean they're not there and just beyond the reach of my equipment and eyes.  I tried to get some pics, aiming my point-&-shoot down the 'scope eyepiece, focusing & moving the worm around to keep it in the field with the other hand (he really starts moving with a bright light on him!)--a real goat rodeo! These are the best I got, which really are close to what I'm seeing with my eyes: 
FWIW, --Diane
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