3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

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Steve Barten
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3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by Steve Barten »

We cruised the inside passage of Alaska in a small, 32-passenger ship in May, 2012. One night we docked in the tiny town of Hoonah and visited a local watering hole after dinner on the ship. On the way back to the ship we saw dozens of 3-foot-long watersnakes swimming on the surface of the harbor. On closer inspection, they appeared to be segmented and to have little swimming appendages on each segment. Turns out they were polychaete worms that spawn just one night a month (or maybe one night a year, we couldn’t find a straight answer and the naturalist on the ship didn’t know.) Like salmon, they die after reproducing. Anyway, they were swimming around, trailing sperm in the water, and getting gobbled up by gulls. It was raining and the raindrops caused reflections in the flash.
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This rope was an inch in diameter for size reference.
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Polychaete worms have a pair of parapodia on each segment, each one tipped with many bristles or setae (sometimes chaetae, thus “polychaete”). These are used for swimming.

Thanks for looking.
VICtort
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Re: 3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by VICtort »

Thanks for sharing that. I saw a couple of these as they swam in the surface water of the harbor at Coffman cove, P of W, Alaska in early July. They were quite visible and enormous, literally looking like a snake from a distance. I suspect fish don't readily eat them, as they swam across open water unmolested. I asked some locals about them, and they said they were "toredos", which is unlikely, these did not appear to be a boring type. You gave me somewhere to start, I will try to research them.

Amazing shot of "spawning" by the way, that I did not see during daylight.

Vic
Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: 3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

Amazing!
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kricket
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Re: 3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by kricket »

Beautiful shots of the polychaete! Hard to be conclusive without close-ups, but looks like it might be a king ragworm (Alitta virens). :) Kara
josh_r
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Re: 3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by josh_r »

I've seen this in the Puget Sound in Washington State. They are pretty cool! Nice pictures by the way!
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infidel
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Re: 3-foot-long Polychaete Worms in Alaska

Post by infidel »

wow, just wow! I've got to go see one....just another reason to make an Alaska trip
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