Have just got back from Bonaire and we saw a worm crawling along the bottom. It had just come out of a hole and was creeping along into another hole much further on. It was about 8 to 10 feet in length. Does anyone know what it was? nothing like it is in the Humann books.





regards

Brian

Have you looked at the Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber?
The only major difference would be the smooth versus bumpy skin. Maybe there is a less well known cousin.

Linda

We did look at the Tiger Tail but this looked and acted more like a worm, it moved by pulsing along and had a slight slimey coating that it left behind.

You may be right - any other offers of an answer

Brian

Was one end 'anchored' in the reef?? That is a key sign for a Tiger Tail. They forage by extending the mouth end out from an anchor spot, usually a hole to hide in during the day; the third pic does look like an anchored animal.

Glen

The tail came out too as it moved into the new hole. It was very thin probably 1/2 of an inch across and unlike any Tiger Tail that I have seen.

Another mystery of life in the sea!!

Brian, you might contact REEF about it and see if they have any idea.
Now about that 8 to 10 feet, did you put anything next to it to gauge it's actual length?

Seb

Thanks I have sent the original pictures to Reef.Org, the first photo (only part is shown above) was taken on 1:3 macro which gave the 1/2 inch width.

I will report back if I hear more.

Come to think of it, I would bet even big Tiger Tails start as little Tiger Tails!!! I don't remember ever seeing any small, 'juvenile' sea cucumbers, all 'full size' adult (?) animals. Maybe that is what you saw. Other sea animals, particularly fish, are so different as juvies, maybe the differences you saw are normal for Tiger Tails.

Perhaps Jessie Armacost and/or Caren Eckrick or Jerry Ligon will read this thread and be able to shed some light.

Hi Brian,

Your mystery creature is a ribbon worm. I see them often on night dives, especially around coral spawning time. They come in many different colors and vary in size from a few inches to several meters. I've seen several the size that you reported including one at the town pier and Sipke Stapert told me he saw one that was 16ft long there.

From BioMedia Associates, copyright 2003.....

"These thin, non-segmented worms belong to a phylum of their own – Phylum Nemertea, related to Phylum Platyhelmenthes, the flatworms. There are about 900 or so known species of ribbon worms, and most live on the ocean floor in shallow waters .

Most ribbon worms are predators and they are equipped with a long proboscis that can be shot our of the head end to either pierce or entangle prey. The probosis is like an inverted finger on a rubber glove. When deployed to catch prey it is ‘everted’, much like what happens when you blow on the wrist end of a rubber glove to evert one of the fingers.

Ribbon worms are covered with cilia which aid in movement as they slither across rocks and amongst seaweeds. Other ribbon worm species live between sand grains or in crevices on coral reefs. Ribbon worms can stretch, and while they tend to be only a few inches long, one species of ribbon worm was recorded at 30 meters in length! And we're not stretching this observation!"

Biomedia

Some more info.....

Nemertea

many of the ones that I have seen here in Bonaire are very similar in appearance to these, found in Antarctica...

Nemertina

Ellen

That is great thanks very much, I am glad the mystery for us is solved. Strange things are always around if you notice them.

Best regards

Brian & Sue

Blimey 30 metres long, I would have expected the reef cam to follow at the other end!!!!

Oh - oh. I forgot about Ellen! Apologies, Ellen. :–) TKS.

It has been many years, but when diving in St. Lucia we saw something similar. However it was always in and amongst the the coral reef. We never saw it in total. The "Thing" as the locals called it, would pass by in the reef. You could only see a small section of it at a time. Like maybe one or two feet. But it would jsut keep passing. Kinda like a watching a train go by. It was very difficult to judge the length, but 10' to 20' or more would not surpirse me.

The locals there said it was not yet indentified. We were somewhat new divers then, so maybe they were just trying to creep us out. It worked.

It was very creepy to watch. I remember it very well, even many years later.

I now wonder if we saw ribbon worms.

Dave