Are these lobophorate or just polychaetes

[ATJ]

Until I read last week's lecture, I would have assumed that these were a "colony" of polychaetes. However, they seem to match some of the characteristics of Phoronida.

While it is hard to be certain as they retract quickly, it does look like retraction occurs due to the worm moving back into the tube. The tubes are clear near the top.

[ February 15, 2002: Message edited by: ATJ ]</p>

 

[rshimek]

Hi Andrew,

The images are not coming through to me.

Can you email them to me?

 

[Chucker]

IIRC, tripod gets pissy about directly linking pics from another source. If you take ATJ's picture link http://atj777.tripod.com/worms.jpg and paste it into your browser's address window, the pic should pop up without a problem. FWIW, they look like hydroids to my uneducated eye.

 

[ATJ]

Here was Dr Ron's reply:
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>The critters in question are hydroids.

Crown of tentacles is not horseshoe shaped - there is only one Phoronid with
a non-horseshoe shaped lophophore, Phoronis ovalis, and those tentacles are
erect, non-drooping and white and very much denser than the ones on these.

Polychaete tentacles surround a mouth also do generally droop. Accessory
tentacles are often seen in the center. Polychaetes are bilateral.

These are colonial athecate hydroids in their tubes. Note the tetramerous
symmetry. Typical of some cnidarians.<hr></blockquote>