Wonderful zooms on a large Tomopteris! A little less than a meter probably.
@schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 903 #DesigningtheFuture3 #MarineLife

GLOW WORMS IN LONG BEACH HOLY SHIT!!!

(4/10) Far below the Pacific Ocean, in a world without sunlight, something glitters: Iskra’s Glitter Worm.

www.marinespecies.org/worms-top-te...

@scrippsocean.bsky.social

#toptenmarinespecies #taxonomistappreciationday #OceanDecade #GenOcean #deepsea

(2/10) The Sponge Ambusher Worm sets its trap in a glass sponge.

www.marinespecies.org/worms-top-te...

#toptenmarinespecies #taxonomistappreciationday #OceanDecade #GenOcean #deepsea

Single origin and convergent host use of hexactinellid sponge symbiosis in Hesionidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) with descriptions of two new deep-sea species Abstract. Symbiotic associations between annelids and sponges are widespread and have evolved repeatedly across diverse families. However, their evolutiona

What do you get when you study deep sea annelids & sea sponges on the Getsuyo Seamount? A symbiotic relationship resulting in two newly-described species of Hesionid from two sister-clades! Inhabiting the same sponge host, they share a niche...suggesting convergent specialisation! 🧪

Impressive macrotubercles arrays

#amphipodstoday #wormwednesday

Proceraea hanssoni Proceraea hanssoni in January 2026 by Jen Strongin

oh Wow! A male epitoke (reproductive stage) of this polychaete, Proceraea hanssoni! #wormwednesday www.inaturalist.org/observations...

IPC15, Frankfurt 2026 Frankfurt, Germany • 27–31 July 2026Hosted at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt The 15th International Polychaete Conference (IPC15) will bring together resear…

Registration and Abstract Submissions for the 15th International Polychaete Conference is now open!! #IPC15

polychaete-association.com/ipc15-frankf...

Macroid Formation in Salmacina stellaebayensis n. sp. From Mauritania's Baie de l'Étoile With New Insights on Mitogenome Evolution in Serpulidae (Annelida) We describe Salmacina stellaebayensis n. sp. from Mauritania's Baie de l'Étoile and provide the first complete mitochondrial genome for the genus Salmacina. The species forms distinctive macroid colo...

Star-shaped worm colonies? ✨🪱
Our new paper describes 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴, named after Mauritania’s Baie de l’Étoile (Bay of Stars).
Open access & featured on the Feb cover of Ecology & Evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1002/ece3...

#newspecies #polychaete #taxonomy
@sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social

Anyone can do a redescription without viewing a holotype. Goes on frequently. If you have specimens from near the type locality I wouldn't worry about the lack of access - just be sure to mention it. If you don't have nearby specimens it gets more problematic.

Describe it as a new species - with a convincing account of why the other species name is unusable. Find differences (eg the size factor). For neotype you would need better reasons than no response from the holotype holding institute. (epitype is a botanical concept only).

Weird and Wonderful: The balloon worm floats in the ocean’s twilight zone YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

The balloon worm looks nothing like a typical worm because it doesn’t live on the seafloor, it floats in the deep midwater. With a gelatinous, bag-like body for buoyancy, it drifts and feeds on sinking organic particles. www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5KG... #marinelife #wormwednesday

I am done screaming into the void today so here you go, have a whole loaf of scale worm. That thing is huge. From @schmidtocean.bsky.social dive 784 #antarcticclimateconnections #MarineLife

#WormWednesday Hyalinoecia onuphids (quillworms) scavenging something organic

Notopygos albiseta Notopygos albiseta from Kwajalein Atoll, RMI on November 13, 2011 by uwkwaj

MOAR colorful NOTOPYGOS from Kwajalein Atoll! #wormwednesday www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Notopygos albiseta Notopygos albiseta from Kwajalein Atoll, RMI on June 24, 2014 by uwkwaj

Kwajalein has a lot of these! NOTOPYGOS! #wormwednesday and thanks to Scott Johnson for these great shots! www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Impacts of an industrial deep-sea mining trial on macrofaunal biodiversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution A species-level dataset of sediment-dwelling macrofauna, sampled 2 years before and 2 months after a test of a commercial deep-sea mining machine, reveals losses of macrofaunal density and species ric...

New paper out on the impact from a deep sea mining test in the Pacific Ocean. Great collaboration with the Natural History Museum London and the National Oceanography Centre Southampton . www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Crustmas and #wormwednesday!

Thanks. Clearly on the Chatham Rise I would say (a well known & important feature for biologists). Despite the live streaming (absolutely admirable) at times there seemed to be a bit of a vacuum on reporting where the ROV was, & as an local watching in NZ I really really wanted to know this.

It looks rather delicate. It probably is a deepwater specialist. There are many many polynoid species and they are often associates of larger inverts as in that pic. In shallow water they'll be more hidden away from the eyes of predators but quite common.

One day we might learn what the "tubeworms" were that formed this convenient refuge for fish. They are identified only as a Lamellibrachia.

📢 The First Circular for the 15th International Polychaete Conference (IPC15) is out! Join us in Frankfurt, Germany • 27–31 July 2026
#IPC15 #Polychaetes #Annelida

polychaete-association.com/ipc15-frankf...

Genus Palola Palola from Pulau Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, ID on February 4, 2018 at 10:47 AM by littleoceankid

Palola worms! is for EATIN'! #wormwednesday Indonesia www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Meet Spinther bohnorum n. sp. Tilic & Rouse 2025 ✨— a tiny but stunning worm!

Spinther species are enigmatic worms that always seem to dwell on sponges, but we still don’t know exactly where they belong on the annelid tree of life. A shiny small mystery wrapped in glitter, basically. 😅🪱

@mucofloris.bsky.social @tuexplorer1.bsky.social Haven't seen the orig stream but definitely not a Swima (Acrocirridae). Did sci crew say it was a Swima? It's one of the silvery swimming polynoid scale worms relatively common in the deep mid Pacific. Swima don't forage on the bottom.

Well spotted Rachel. Some sort of Cnidarian maybe? New to me.

Whoa indeed! What life form is that? #WormWednesday

Yes, go to the observation @inaturalist.bsky.social and zoom the head. It's a fantastic head-on shot by diver Luca for 'in the wild'

Hesione ceylonica Hesione ceylonica from India on October 17, 2024 at 04:40 PM by Sachin Rane🐾

SO MANY PATTERN! from India! Hesione ceylonica! #wormwednesday www.inaturalist.org/observations...