It's been a great month of celebration - surprise party, diving, riding, Tuesday Adventures. Appropriately, the month ended with a dive at Natural.
Over the course of this month I have become mesmerized by the beauty of tubeworms. Okay, the name doesn't sound enticing but they are so beautiful!
The Feather Duster worm - so-called because of the obvious resemblance or the crown to a feather duster - uses the its "feathers" to capture and direct food toward its mouth at the center of the crown. The crowns can be 4'' to 7" across. The body tube, in which the creature lives, is created by the worm from sand and bits of coral rubble and mucous the worm excertes. When it is disturbed, it can quickly pull in its radiole into the tube.
Then there are Christmas tree worms. Their name obviously comes from their shape. While the crowns of Feather Duster worms tend to be the same color, Christmas tree worms come so many colors. They are only about an inch tall and are very shy and easy to disturb.
Sometimes the worms are single, sometimes they cluster in colonies like these and the ones in the top photo. When they cluster, they look like bouquets of flowers.
I'm having so much fun with these guys, I've devoted a whole Flickr album to them. Check 'em out here.
So now it's on to July. Since this is Puerto Rico, there is no shortage of things to celebrate. My sister's birthday, Ali's and Sheila's birthdays, the 4th, Constitution Day (one of three holidays the last week of the month) and so many more. And lots more dives, rides, and tubeworms!
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