susan picked up a rock that washed onto the beach...
when she did a thing that looked like an ALIEN pooked his head out of this tube...
what is it???
Skipjack Joe - 5-21-2007 at 12:10 PM
Most likely it's a polychaete worm.
Worms often build tunnels out of sand that are attached to rocks. They 'glue' sand particles together bit by bit with material they generate
internally. The head of the worm will appear from the opening usually when it's submerged. Some are filter feeders that look like feather dusters,
others have these long thin projecttions which search for food.
If you take a small pair of scissor and cut the tube lenghwise you will expose the worm and see for yourself.
That's what I think it is.bajajudy - 5-21-2007 at 12:14 PM
We would like to see step by step pix of this disection,please!Iflyfish - 5-21-2007 at 12:15 PM
Interesting, some river insects do the same thing.
IflyfishDENNIS - 5-21-2007 at 12:25 PM
That's my ex mother-n-law, on a good day.Skipjack Joe - 5-21-2007 at 01:15 PM
I'm at work right now and don't have the tools. I'll see if I can find the exposed animal from Google search and just paste it on the thread later
today.
Quote:
Originally posted by Iflyfish
Interesting, some river insects do the same thing.
Iflyfish
Yes. The caddises.
You're right, come to think of it. The caddis creates a mucous web inside it's tube and then just ingests back the web with the trapped food inside.
Some worms do the same and create a small current from one end of the tube to the other. Food gets trapped and then it just ingests the entire mess,
food and 'mucous'.
Coevolution, they called it. Two unrelated species solving the same problem in the same way.Bob and Susan - 5-21-2007 at 01:33 PM
here is the disection...it was a worm
Bob and Susan - 5-21-2007 at 01:33 PM
...then susan told me i was doing it ALL wrong....
Bob and Susan - 5-21-2007 at 01:35 PM
i must have chopped off the head accidently...but you can clearly see the worm
Susan thinks Skipjack Joe is sure smart....
DianaT - 5-21-2007 at 01:44 PM
Hope you don't find any bigger creatures.
Dianemarv sherrill - 5-21-2007 at 04:42 PM
You seem to have exposed a tube anemone - not a worm - no segments to be a polychaete - did the "head" have purple colored tentacles? They are common
in tide pools, and mud flats - that's my guess!! MarvBob and Susan - 5-21-2007 at 04:47 PM
yes purple...i think i cut it off by accident during the delicate operation...
i hope no one needs me for a briss bajadock - 5-22-2007 at 11:34 AM
What wine does one serve with this local cuisine? Some of my new wine snob friends have noticed my preference for Vino Ambar, aka cerveza. "Ambar"
goes well with any meat, fish, other.
BTW, great websites, love your ambitious projects.rdrrm8e - 5-22-2007 at 02:14 PM
Whatever it was...I hope it wasn't the last oneSkipjack Joe - 5-22-2007 at 03:34 PM
The image is too blurry to see the presence or absence of segments.
The best thing to do, Susan, is to place your finger into it's mouth.
If you feel a sharp piercing sting - it's a worm.
If it's more of a 'sticky' feeling where the tentacles attach to your finger but there is no pain. Then it's an anemone.
[Edited on 5-22-2007 by Skipjack Joe]Bob and Susan - 5-22-2007 at 03:57 PM
i'll have her do that next time...
it's dead and gone now...
it did not survive the operation...
oh yea...right at the end he wanted to thank judy for the post...
he's famous nowPops - 5-22-2007 at 09:06 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bob and Susan
susan picked up a rock that washed onto the beach...
when she did a thing that looked like an ALIEN pooked his head out of this tube...
