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Project Noah Nature School
Polychaeta
At a glance without saying this is found in the sea, you would mistaken them for a Caterpillar. Indeed they look very much like Caterpillars. This Bristle Worm is around 5-6 cm in size, mostly white with a lot of bristle running along the side of its body. Aside from the bristles, it also has a pair of protrusions on each segment of its body running on its back as shown in Pic#3. Mostly white in colour with black/brown spots. The bristleworm spines when touched can sting and cause pain, burning sensation, redness, swelling, and rash. The spines do not have any associated venom producing cells so there is no fear of additional "venom" being released with removal of the spines. This characteristics makes them similar to Caterpillars. And for this reason, they are sometimes referred to as Fireworms.
Sandy bottom and among coral rubbles. They usually lives under the sand or loose rocks/rubbles and only came out to the open when hunting/feeding.
Spotted on Apr 30, 2016
Submitted on May 10, 2016
2 Comments
Thanks, @armadeus.4 for your appreciation :)
Wonderful spotting Albert! Thank you for the information and for sharing :)