The balloon worm (Poeobius meseres) hardly looks like a worm at all. It lives in the midwater—the vast expanse of open water deep below the surface and far above the seafloor. Most marine polychaete worms—the more elaborate relatives of earthworms and leeches—have a clearly segmented body. Their bodies are divided into many nearly identical, repeated parts. Typically, each of those repeated parts is studded with several stiff bristles. Poeobius, however, has a bag-like body filled with fluid that, together with its thick gelatinous coat, provides buoyancy to help it stay up in the water column effortlessly.
Poeobius is a common and very abundant resident of the midwater of Monterey Bay. It drifts through the water, collecting and eating bits of sinking organic matter in a mucous net. This little worm is actually an important part of cycling nutrients like carbon from the ocean’s surface to its depths. Learn more about these wondrous worms on our website.
FEATHER-DUSTER WORM: Yup just grab a bunch and slap them bad boys all over your tentacles next question
Feather duster worms are wary of shadowy figures looking to steal their crown. Myriad eyespots play lookout to alert the worm to danger. Should an intruder be spotted, the tentacles can be retracted into their protective tube in the blink of an eye!
