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July 21, 2021: Polychaete Worm

This polychaete scaleworm (Polynoidae sp.) was seen just above the seafloor while exploring a site on the northern end of the West Florida Escarpment during the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Gulf of Mexico 2017. Download larger version (jpg, 611 KB).

This polychaete scaleworm (Polynoidae sp.) was seen just above the seafloor while exploring a site on the northern end of the West Florida Escarpment during the Gulf of Mexico 2017 expedition. The combination of its undulations and the shimmering waves of its oar-like paddles that drive it through the water was positively hypnotic! See for yourself in this video of the worm.