photo: Art
photo: Fredrik Pleijel
photo via: vn-zoom.com
photo: Denis Riek
Habitat: Arctic and circumboreal. In northern Europe known from Öresund, Skagerrak, western Norway, Helgoland, Shetland and Wales
Status: Not Listed
This is one of those creatures that took my breath away the first time I saw it. And that usually doesn’t happen when I’m dealing with marine worms. Terrestrial worms, on the other hand, are another story…
This stunning thing is called a Yellow Dragon worm (Phyllodoce citrina) and I’m sure you can see why. This guy looks exactly like the mythological Chinese Dragon, albeit a much smaller version.
photo: Alexander Semenov
These marine worms are members of the class Polychaete which are defined by their segmented body that features a pair of bristle-covered fleshy outgrowths called parapodia on each segment. While it may look like an intimidating specimen, these Chinese dragon look-alikes only grow to about 10 cm (4 in) in length. Still, the resemblance to a golden dragon is uncanny:
