The picture displays 'bubble-like' features within the thorax. Maybe they are eggs because some days later, I found several small chaetognaths in the water and these spherical features had disappeared.
THE
CHAETOGNATH, Page 2 |
by Jean-Marie Cavanihac, France |
| When
trying to feed them with Artemia nauplii, I
noticed that they didn't react to the nauplii motions
even when they were moving in front of the arrow worm's
head. Artemia's swimming technique is very
different to copepods and the arrow worms seem to be able
to distinguish the Artemia nauplii movements
from the copepod's distinctive movements, but not using
their rudimentary eyes but using vertical rows of hairs
all around their bodies. The picture displays 'bubble-like' features within the thorax. Maybe they are eggs because some days later, I found several small chaetognaths in the water and these spherical features had disappeared. |
|
 |
As the story must have a fair ending, the arrow worm although a predator, is also eaten by little jellyfish! |
| Back to the first page | Did you already see the details of the arrow worm? |
All the pictures were taken of live specimens.
Comments to the author Jean-Marie Cavanihac are welcomed.
All photographs © Jean-Marie Cavanihac 1999
Prepared for the Web by Wim van Egmond
Published in the January 2000 edition of Micscape Magazine.
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