We just got a fax from one of the Virginia bait dealers with information on the
collecting site and habitat of the Namalycastis. I've included the info. below.
One of the big concerns in this area is the presence of the Vibrio bacteria
with these worms. We don't need a new version of the bacteria getting into
the waters here. There have been 3 recent deaths that are being attributed
to Vibrio with one confirmed here in D.C. from raw oysters. (I always knew
there was a reason not to eat oysters.) Given the preferred temperature of
these worms it's not too likely they would survive in the Cheaspeake Bay and
they'll have a real tough time finding salt water palm trees here, but stranger
things have managed to survive here. (Anyone interested in a Chinese
snakehead fish....) It can be a problem though when the press takes a
serious issue like invasive species and tries to make it humorous, or when
they don't have all of the facts.
Linda
<Ward.Linda at NMNH.SI.EDU>
fax below
---
NORMANDIE APPATS SAS
Société au Capital 1400 000 Euros - Siret 327 820 577 00036 - APE 512 E
Siège ; BP 15 - 19 Rue du Colonel Fabien - 14860 RANVILLE
Tel 0231787996 - Fax 0231728465 - contact at normandie-appats.com
2002-07-30
As per your request, I am Pleased to bring you some further information
concerning our Vietnamese worm :
It is a species of the genus Namalycastis (Polychaeta : Nerididae),
Some people said that it might be Namalycastis Aibiuma, It is also possible
that this worm is a quite now species which has never been classified
before.
It lives in the flats of the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam. It feeds mainly on the
rotten cellulose buried in the mud. It is very tolerant to high difference of
salinity as it is possible to find it very deep in the delta, very close, to the pure
fresh water. Its water is the brackish water.
It lives in rather high level flats where grow the salt water palm trees.
In Autumn, it spawns. The female is red and the male is green. At this stage
of their life they become swimmers. In the past, I operated by myself some
fertilizations with success but it was just by scientific curiosity..
This worm can reach sometimes close to 10 feet long (in extension
position). Once, I got one in my hand which was 3 metre long.
As this worm lives only in tropical region, it cannot support temperature
below +20ºC. At +19ºC it starts to die. So, this is a bait that we can deal alive
with only from June to September.
We keep it in a plastic box containing fermented paper pulp as the bedding
Material. My company has patented this conservation method about 10 years
ago.
Thanks -Regards
Michel Lopuszanski, Prédsident
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