Dear Geoff and the Annelid List,
The reference to "Ice Worms" is a new one to me, but the worm may turn
out to be the same one that occurs at various other seeps in the Gulf
of Mexico and that has been collected and known, but not described, for
about 10 yrs.
The worm occurs in "writhing" masses and it turns out to be related to
orbiniids, albeit something that seems very plesiomorphic to me. I
have worked up a description but am at a loss at the moment as to how
to classify it. It is certainly a new genus and species, and at least a
new subfamily. Kevin Eckelbarger is studying the spermatogenesis and
has found an unusual sperm structure; Craig Young is working on its
reproduction and other aspects of the ecology. I am doing the taxonomy.
Bye,
Jim Blake
ENSR, 89 Water Street
Woods Hole, MA 02543
(jablake at ix.netcom.com)
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