Worm ID - Caught him finally!

[jeffrey_ropp]

I finally captured a worm that he been chewing on my soft corals for over a year now. He only comes out in the early morning hours, so I've unsuccessfully tried to catch him dozens of times. He's very sensitive and blindingly quick. I've seen him munching on xenia, toadstools, and zoas.

But tonight was my night and he'll be spending the rest of it in a zip lock bag. If you want him, he's all yours.

Anyone have any idea on the genus, species?

Links to full size pics and video:
Worm
Closeup
Eating Xenia
Video

 

[Anonymous]

Bristle Worm. :lol: I can't believe you caught it. :lol:

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

Hi Crissy - I don't think its a bristle worm. He doesn't look anything like the more common ones I've seen in my tanks.

The spines appear to be for sensory input (touch them and he scoots) as well as for mobility. They are clearly the most distinctive aspect of their morphology. That and really big pinchers at the mouth. You can literally see your soft corals going down his body.

Check out the video if you get a chance. He shakes the end of his tail like a rattlesnake!

 

[Anonymous]

DAVID MOHR chime in please!!

He's your man on this one.

 

[Anonymous]

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/%7Esweetyum ... worms.html

Check this out. Looks like a bad fire worm that are predetory to corals.

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

Great link Crissy!

I don't see anything on the page quite like it. The bristles are at least twice as long as his body is thick.

I still have him so additional pictures are possible.

Many thanks for the interest and comments!

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry I couldn't be of help. You ought to PM DavidMohr and he will be able to identify for you.

 

[Charlesr1958]

Without being able to see its head structures, an ID is going to be hard to pin down and would have to fall back onto the old " if its acting bad, then it is bad" and remove it, if possible.

Off hand though, its other features look very much like a Syllidae, far to many members of that family for me to pin down though.

Chuck

 

[Anonymous]

Great link Crissy!

I don't see anything on the page quite like it. The bristles are at least twice as long as his body is thick.

I still have him so additional pictures are possible.

Many thanks for the interest and comments!

That's Chuck (Charlesr1958) site. Great site!!

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

Thanks Chuck (great collection BTW) and Crissy.

Sorry I couldn't capture better photos. As Chuck says though, if he's bad...he's bad. I'm just thrilled he's gone.

I do agree with your guess though Chuck. The lengthy bristles have me guessing Syllidae as well.

I never knew a worm could be so fast!

 

[ReefSanctuary]

looks like maybe a euncid worm? <--spelling

 

[Charlesr1958]

Thanks Jeff, am always on the hunt for new species, even with what I already have now, it is only scratching the surface of the thousands out there, which keeps me on the hunt within the various habitats. Kind of a hobby within a hobby.

Chuck

 

[LeslieH1]

Polychaete, definitely a syllid, in the subfamily Syllinae (there are 4 subfamilies). What you all are calling bristles are actually fleshy body parts called dorsal cirri. The bristles are too small to be seen without much higher magnification. To determine genus & species I'd have to know where it came from & see details of the bristles, head, dorsal cirri, ventral cirri, and feeding structures.

What's really interesting to me as a worm researcher is that this is the second post I've seen which reports a syllid actually munching on soft corals. I don't believe anything on this is recorded in the scientific literature. That's why I check out reef forums - because reefers looking at their tanks day and night see things scientists don't!

 

[LeslieH1]

Jeff - I just noticed your link for the video. That's not up any more. Can you repost it? I'd love to see how the worm feeds. Do you have other pics of the worm on a softie? Many thanks - L

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

Hi Leslie,
Thanks for the identification and education (Leslie is really an expert according to Google folks).

The video file is available again. Not much to see, just the worm in a cereal bowl (so no feeding behavior - not even breakfast). If you watch carefully, you'll see him "rattle" his tail periodically. I'm not sure if this is typical behavior or possible an artifact caused by some injury during capture.

From observation, I can offer a few things. I've seen him eating zoanthids, xenia, and a toadstool. He was exclusively nocturnal in his feeding. Mecahnically, it appeared that he would bite down and rip tissue away. As it was somewhat transparent, it was easy to see the food moving inside. His ability to accelerate in escape was amazing and maddening. Perhaps consitent with his locomotion potential, he was a ravenous eater. He decimated my xenia population and retarded the growth of a large toadstool. At the time of capture, he was about a foot long.

I initially posted about this particular individual over a year ago and had been trying to catch him ever since (so perhaps the other post was mine as well?).

I was only able to find one other picture (also eating xenia):
http://www.zoyzoy.com/aquarium/reefcent ... aworm2.jpg

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,

 

[LeslieH1]

Thanks for posting the video & for the info on how it feeds, Jeff.

About that vibrating tail - in your first picture you can see the tail portion is swollen & darker. It's packed full of either eggs or sperm (resolution's not high enough) & has a pair of eyes right where the swelling starts & probably has modified oar-shaped bristles as well. The vibration occurs when the worm is trying to release this posterior so it can swim up into the water & shed the eggs/sperm. The free-swimming tail is known as an epitoke (or swarmer to reefers).

The other post was by a woman who was very irate that I was fascinated by her info instead of sympathizing with her pain. I wish I had caught your post the night you caught it - I would have loved to id this guy! If you have the bad luck to have another one let me know. I'll happily pay postage.

Thanks again --

 

[LeslieH1]

Jeff - just noticed your address. If you ever get another one call me at the museum & don't worry about shipping. I can walk over after work.

 

[jeffrey_ropp]

Leslie - I'll be more than happy to! Assuming of course that the little bugger reproduced (does this species do so asexually? Is it likely?).

Good news! I did find a picture of the individual eating another soft coral (toadstool leather):
http://www.zoyzoy.com/aquarium/reefcent ... dstool.jpg

 

[LeslieH1]

Not this particular animal. It will only produce epitokes containing eggs or sperm which means another individual producing the other kind of gamete is needed. It's not going to split into pieces and reproduce that way.

Thanks for posting the other image. Neat animal, even if it does eat softies!