| Arctonoe vittata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Subclass: | Errantia |
| Order: | Phyllodocida |
| Family: | Polynoidae |
| Genus: | Arctonoe |
| Species: | A. vittata |
| Binomial name | |
| Arctonoe vittata | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
List
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Arctonoe vittata is a species of scaled polychaete worms commonly known as a "scale worm". This species often lives as a commensal of another marine animal.
At least thirty pairs of elytra, scale-like modifications to the dorsal cirri, conceal the animal's body. These are on alternate segments and do not meet dorsally, leaving the central line of the body uncovered. A. vittata is a pale yellowish colour, with a few faint transverse bands, and a dark stripe located across segments 7 and 8. It can grow to a length of 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) but is usually shorter. [2] It can be distinguished from the otherwise similar Arctonoe pulchra by the absence of a dark spot on each scale. [3]
A. vittata is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from the Bering Strait to Ecuador, and as far west as Japan. Its depth range is from the middle shore down to about 275 m (902 ft). [2]
The species forms a commensal relationship with the gumboot chiton, living on its gills and pallial groove. It also lives in the ambulacral groove of Dermasterias imbricata , a starfish. [3] Another host is the keyhole limpet Diodora aspera where it lives in the gill groove. It can be very large in comparison with the size of this particular host. If the limpet is attacked by a starfish, such as Pisaster ochraceus , the scale worm defends its host by biting the tube feet of the starfish, usually succeeding in driving it away. [4]
Some other hosts have also been identified; these include the starfishes Henricia leviuscula , Luidia foliata , Pteraster tesselatus , Solaster stimpsoni and Solaster dawsoni and the abalone Haliotis kamtschatkana , as well as the terebellid worms Thelepus crispus and Neoamphitrite robusta . It seems to recognise its host species by some chemical cue in the water; if separated from its symbiont, it attempts to return to its original host or find its way to a new host of the same species. It is carnivorous, but does not feed on its symbiont, preferring to be transported to new feeding grounds and feed on the heads of polychaete tubeworms, or any suitable prey its host may encounter on its travels. It is an efficient walker but a poor swimmer. [2]
Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. Renowned as the inspiration for the character Doc in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel Cannery Row, Rickett's professional reputation is rooted in Between Pacific Tides (1939), a pioneering study of intertidal ecology. A friend and mentor of Steinbeck, they collaborated on and co-authored the book, Sea of Cortez (1941).
The gumboot chiton, also known as the giant western fiery chiton or giant Pacific chiton, is the largest of the chitons, growing to 36 cm (14 in) and capable of reaching a weight of more than 2 kg (4.4 lb). It is found along the shores of the northern Pacific Ocean from Central California to Alaska, across the Aleutian Islands to the Kamchatka Peninsula and south to Japan. It inhabits the lower intertidal and subtidal zones of rocky coastlines. The gumboot chiton's appearance has led some tidepoolers to refer to it, fondly, as the "wandering meatloaf". The name "gumboot chiton" seems to derive from a resemblance to part of a rubber Wellington boot or "gum rubber" boot.
Joel Walker Hedgpeth was a marine biologist, environmentalist and author. He was an expert on the marine arthropods known as sea spiders (Pycnogonida), and on the seashore plant and animal life of southern and northern California; he co-authored Between Pacific Tides, the definitive guide to California intertidal organisms. He was a spokesperson for care for the floral and faunal diversity of the California coastline.
Culcita schmideliana, commonly known as the spiny cushion star, is a species of pin-cushion star. It has a variety of base colors and often patches of a different color. It is pentagonal in shape and lives in the tropical Indo-Pacific. This species is rarely kept by hobby aquarists.
Pagurus hirsutiusculus is a species of hermit crab, commonly called the hairy hermit crab. It lives from the Bering Strait south to California and Japan, from the intertidal zone to a depth of 110 m (360 ft).
Diodora aspera, also known as the rough keyhole limpet, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fissurellidae, the keyhole limpets. Although similar in appearance to a common limpet, it has a hole near the apex of its shell, and is only distantly related. It often has a scaled polychaete worm Arctonoe vittata living inside its shell as a commensal. In the event that it is attacked by a starfish, it extends flaps of mantle to defend itself, and the worm also helps drive the predator away.
Hapalogaster cavicauda is a species of king crab that lives on the Pacific coast of North America.
Pagurus samuelis, the blueband hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab from the west coast of North America, and the most common hermit crab in California. It is a small species, with distinctive blue bands on its legs. It prefers to live in the shell of the black turban snail, and is a nocturnal scavenger of algae and carrion.
Chaetopterus variopedatus is a species of parchment worm, a marine polychaete in the family Chaetopteridae. It is found worldwide. However, recent discoveries from molecular phylogeny analysis show that Chaetopterus variopedatus sensu Hartman (1959) is not a single species.
The leather star is a sea star in the family Asteropseidae found at depths to 100 m (328 ft) off the western seaboard of North America. It was first described to science by Adolph Eduard Grube in 1857.
The star pearlfish, Carapus mourlani, is a species of slender, ray-finned fish in the family Carapidae. It normally lives inside a starfish or a sea cucumber.
Evasterias troschelii is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Its common names include the mottled star, false ochre sea star and Troschel's true star. It is found in Kamchatka and the north western coast of North America.
Anasterias rupicola is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is found in shallow waters in the Southern Ocean and sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean.
Pteraster tesselatus, the slime star or cushion star, is a species of starfish in the family Pterasteridae found in the North Pacific.
Arctonoe is a genus of worms in the family Polynoidae. They are commonly known as "scale worms". Members of this genus predominantly occur in shallow waters of the north-eastern Pacific Ocean and often live as commensals of other marine invertebrates, frequently echinoderms but sometimes molluscs or other polychaetes.
Lophopanopeus bellus, the black-clawed crab, is a species of crab in the family Panopeidae. It is native to the Pacific coasts of North America, its range extending from Alaska to California.
Hippolyte californiensis, the California green shrimp, is a species of shrimp in the family Hippolytidae. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. It was first described in 1895 by the zoologist S.J. Holmes from Bodega Bay, California. Of the 32 or so species in the genus Hippolyte, it is most closely related to H. obliquimanus and H. williamsi.
Megalorchestia californiana is a species of sand-hopper in the family Talitridae. It was first described in 1851 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt and is the type species of the genus Megalorchestia. It is commonly known as the long-horned beach hopper.
Dipolydora commensalis is a species of polychaete worm in the family Spionidae. It has a commensal relationship with a hermit crab and occurs on the lower shore of coasts on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Ochetostoma erythrogrammon is a species of spoon worm in the family Thalassematidae. It is found in shallow water in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans, burrowing in soft sediment.