Leslie Harris showing off one of her babies, a huge bristle worm from the Antarctic. Family Polynoidae, Eulagisca gigantea Monro, 1939. For those who want to see detailed close-ups of a similar specimen at the Smithsonian, go to http://eol.org/pages/406461/overview Unfortunately the paired elytra - paired "scales" of thin skin that cover the back and give the species the common name "scaleworm" - are missing. Many scaleworms have scales that fluoresce bright green or blue when disturbed. If a predator attacks one these scaleworms it will cast off the scales to distract the predator while it gets away. The "baggy" thing at the left top of the jar is the proboscis. That contains the jaws which shoot out much like the jaws of "Alien". --- comments thanks to Leslie Harris.
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
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