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Diopatra cuprea
Diopatra is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Onuphidae. Members of this genus live in thick parchment-like tubes that project from the sediment on the seabed. The tubes are covered on the outside by fragments of shell, pieces of algae and other small objects, collected by the worm and stuck in place by mucous. The worm ambushes small invertebrates that come too close by darting partially out of the tube and grasping the prey with their maxillae and mandibles. Their large anterior parapodia help them to immobilize the prey
Salt water - Mostly seabed . +/- 30m depth Interesting article on research : http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/183...
Approximate length of this specimen was about 10cm but the are listed as growing up to 20cm LINKS: Interesting article on research : http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/183... Two Oceans: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa
Spotted on May 19, 2010
Submitted on Jun 5, 2013
9 Comments
Fantastic!
Found it ( thanks to my friend , Camilla Floros PhD
Scientist – Reef Programme,Oceanographic Research Institute
South African Association for Marine Biological Research)
Diopatra cuprea , common name, banded case worm
Diopatra is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Onuphidae.
I asked a former grad school professor of mine (he's an aquatic entomologist) about your discovery, and he sent me this link:
http://trichopterology.blogspot.com/2008...
He said that since he's unfamiliar with marine caddisflies and whether they would be present in your area, he has no idea if this is in fact a caddisfly given the conditions, even though it appears to be one. I hope your friend can help!
I can't wait to find out!!
definitely Hmmmm ..... but which one !!! ( i am waiting for a Marine scientist friend of mine to see if she can give me name ......watch this space !!!
Wow, that is quite deep. As far as I know, there are only a couple known caddisfly species that tolerate saltwater. Could me some kind of aquatic worm? Hmmm.
Hi there , thanks so much for your suggestion but Im not so sure if it is a lava, as these are at depths of 30m? From what i read up on your link the Caddisfly is more above water than below and seems to prefer fresh water habitat ??
Also, If it's a caddisfly, they are insects, so you could move this spotting to Arthropods...
Cool! Maybe a caddisfly larva (Trichoptera).