#tomopteris

Tomopteris sample from Schmidt Ocean Institute

A gossamer worm of the genus Tomopteris. Photograph by Rob Sherlock of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Wallpaper at source.

i just love the phrasing in that last sentence. "Those amenable to being caught in trawl nets." Almost like the larger ones just so happen to be easily persuaded to be caught up in nets. Like it's a mild kink for them.

The Tomopteris is a genus of marine planktonic polychaete. All known species of Tomopteris are holoplanktic, which means that they spend their whole life cycles in the open ocean. They swim via their many parapodia, making them fast, strong, and agile swimmers. They inhabit the twilight zone, which is 2,500m (8,200ft) deep. They’ve also been known to produce a yellow bioluminescent mucus, which is a really rare color in the deep sea. 

a tomopteris worm

Photo credit: my photo. High-res, archival quality prints available here

Tomopteris! A really really pretty Deep-sea worm!

Wiggly (SOURCE)