Not just icky creatures: The worms
of Chek Jawa are not all slimy, disgusting creatures.
Beautiful Worms: Some worms on
Chek Jawa may appear totally unworm-like. Fan worms
(Phylum Annelida, Family Sabellidae), for example, look more like
flowery creatures. So do the small Phoronids
(Phylum Phoronida) that are often found near Peacock anemones. They
are common in the coral rubble area. Other worms such as flatworms
(Phylum Platyhelminthes) come in a delightful variety of colours and
patterns. They are often encountered in the coral rubble area and
sometimes in the seagrass lagoon. Bristleworms
(Phylum Annelida, Class Polychaeta) are enchantingly iridescent and
may come in shades of pink, red and green. They are sometimes seen
under stones or moving about in the seagrass lagoon.
Living in a tube: Many worms on
Chek Jawa make tubes to protect their soft bodies against predators
and drying out. Tubeworms riddle the sand bar
leaving only a tiny bit of their tubes sticking out to the surface.
Keelworms (Phylum Annelida, Family Serpulidae)
build hard tubes out of calcium carbonate and are common under stones.
Unseen worms: Some amazing worms
are rarely seen although they are common. The strange Peanut
worm (Phylum Sipuncula) is sometimes seen above ground in the
seagrass lagoon. The Acorn worm (Phylum Hemichordata,
Class Enteropneusta) is almost never seen outside its underground
tunnel. But the grey coils of sediment (called the cast) that it leaves
on the surface are often encountered on the sand bar.
What is a worm? Animals with a
soft body and which are much longer than they are wide are usually
called worms. Although they may appear similar, worms may belong to
very different Phyla, often with quite different internal structures.
Some worms are segmented, others are not. Flatworms are unsegmented
and really really flat. Some have appendages along their body, like
bristleworms. Others have amazing structures on their ends to gather
food or burrow, like Peanut worms and Acorn worms.
|
|
Feathery fan worm
Phoronid
Beautiful bristleworm
Tantalizing tubes of tubeworms
Peculiar peanut worm
Acorn worm cast |
