Tag Archive for 'Annelid'

Pectinereis strickrotti, a live male specimen. Image credit: Ekin Tilic.

Marine Biologists Discover Remarkable New Species of Deep-Sea Worm

Mar 6, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the Centro de Investigación Científica...

Reconstruction of Shaihuludia shurikeni from the Spence Shale of Utah. Image credit: Rhiannon LaVine.

Cambrian Annelid Worm Had Bizarre Blade-Like Chaetae

Aug 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Chaetae are stiff bristles made of chitin that characterize many species of annelid worms. Reconstruction of Shaihuludia shurikeni from the Spence Shale...

Iotuba chengjiangensis. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2014.

515-Million-Year-Old Fossils Shed Light on Evolution of Annelid Worms

Feb 1, 2023 by News Staff

The principal animal lineages diverged in the Cambrian period, but most diversity at lower taxonomic ranks arose more gradually over the subsequent 500...

Jaws of Glycera dibranchiata are composites of protein, melanin, and both mineral and ionic copper; to date, nanomechanical tests have correlated the ionic copper and melanin with hardness and wear resistance, but the function of protein is uncertain. Wonderly et al. characterize a Gly- and His-rich protein called multi-tasking protein (MTP) and, using recombinant protein, show that it performs six distinct functions critical for jaw formation and performance, namely (1) recruiting 22 equiv of Cu2+, (2) mediating a liquid-liquid phase separation of the MTP-copper complex, (3) catalyzing the oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) to melanin, (4) templating the interfacial polymerization of melanin, (5) integrating melanin and itself into thin films and fibers, and (6) providing intermolecular cohesion through Cu bridging. MTP achieves all these by assuming unprecedented roles as a building block, organizer, and fabricator -- a processing feat of considerable relevance to the autonomous production of other polymer composites, blends, and/or networks. Image credit: Wonderly et al., doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.04.001.

Study: Bloodworms Use Copper Harvested From Marine Sediments to Form Their Unique Jaws

Apr 26, 2022 by News Staff

Bloodworms Glycera dibranchiata are known for their unusual jaws, which are made of protein (∼50% w/w), ionic and mineralized copper (up to 10%), and...

New Species of Branching Worm Discovered in Waters Off Japan

Jan 21, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Marine biologists have described a third species of branching syllid worm — and the second within the genus Ramisyllis — living inside an undescribed...

Light microscope images of Melinnopsis gardelli: (A) holotype, lateral view of complete specimen; (B) holotype, dorsal view of anterior region, arrow indicates postbranchial dorsal membrane; (C) holotype prostomium, arrow indicates slightly raised lip; (D) lateral view of anterior region, arrows indicate acicular neurochaetae and (E) ventral view of anterior region showing ventral shields. Scale bars - 1 mm. Image credit: Gunton et al, doi: 10.3853/j.2201-4349.72.2020.1763.

Two New Species of Deep-Sea Worms Discovered

Aug 26, 2020 by Natali Anderson

An international team of marine biologists has described two new species of the polychaete worm genus Melinnopsis from deep waters off the east coast of...

Kootenayscolex barbarensis. Image credit: Danielle Dufault / Royal Ontario Museum.

Cambrian Period Worm Had Hair-Sized Bristles on Its Head and Body

Jan 29, 2018 by News Staff

A new species of bristle worm that lived about 508 million years ago (Cambrian period) has been identified from fossils found in Marble Canyon and Burgess...