Name this Deep Invertebrate

[drbill]

Sunday I dove to 180 ft on the south side of Ship Rock off Catalina Island. I rarely dive the south side and when I do it is usually above 100 ft. Between 160-180 ft I noticed the ocean floor had a fairly number of these invertebrates (about 1-2" high, maybe a bit more).

Can anyone save me the time of doing a literature search to find out what they are? TIA.

 

[FRUMPY]

Hydroid (Ralpharia magnifica) ? or maybe a type of coral? I looked up a ton of pictures on a google search for deep sea inverts. and got A LOT of pictures. Couldn't put my finger on just one. Sorry. Good luck in finding out.

Melissa- (using hubby's acct. while my computer is down and out).

 

[LeslieH]

These are maldanid polychaetes Praxillura maculata. I've heard it called windmill worm but I think web worm would be better. It stretches strands of mucus over the rays then eats the tasty bits that collect on the mucus. The tube on the upper left has the worm extended out on on the rays and one on the bottom row very clearly shows the web strings. The pattern is quite similar to a spider web. I'd love to have a hi-res of this one if you don't mind!

 

[Rick Murchison]

Truly cool people those web-spinning worms.
Rick

 

[drbill]

Leslie, unfortunately you are looking at the "high resolution" image! I shoot mini-DV video so the largest I can capture from the video is 720x480. Maybe I'll take a photog buddy down there some time.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Maybe I'll take a photog buddy down there some time.

Please do. I'd love to see some really close up shots of this fascinating guy.
Rick

 

[drbill]

I agree! Thanks to Leslie's information it now has me quite intrigued to see if I can video the spinning behavior. Phil Garner (MaxBottomTime) e-mailed me and said he sees them at 35-65' depths off Marineland. That sounds a lot safer than returning frequently to the depth I found them at!

 

[Jake]

drBill: Here's a link to another thread with more pictures of a similar, if not identical, creature (the link should look familiar to a few people here!): http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=98085

 

[Rick Murchison]

drBill: Here's a link to another thread with more pictures of a similar, if not identical, creature (the link should look familiar to a few people here!): http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=98085

Yep that's the guy. I'd love to see some really good closeups of the web/worm. When you think about it, a worm that builds a frame and a web to gather its food is really, really remarkable
Rick

 

[DennisW]

Pretty interesting, don't you think.


Not quite on this subject, but also related.

I interviewed for a Systems Engineer position about a month ago and the guy I was talking to asked me this: If you were to go back to school for another degree, what would it be?

My answer: Marine Biology. I've done enough Engineering and Business education in my life. I'm interested in the cool stuff I see while I'm on SCUBA. He was surprised at my answer.

Ok, hijack over.