April 24, 2010 : Nemertea Worm

Nemertea Worm

A "ribbon, or bootlace worm" (Nemertea) lies coiled up on the ocean floor. These organisms are voracious predators and feed with a tubular proboscis which shoots out to impale or capture prey. They are most common as tiny "strings" living between sand grains, but they can also grow to large sizes and even live in the water column. There are about 1000 known species of Nemertes, but scientists believe that there at least twice this number yet to be discovered.