What on earth is this?

Found by the sharp eyes of Graham Abbott during a night dive , at 6m, on a crinoid living on coral rubble at Wajil, Raja Ampat.

We have no idea what it is (and so guessed at a copepod, as they can be really weird).

Tim

Hi Tim -- I wasn't sure either so I sent your image to a friend who works on crinoid commensals. It's an unusual type of polychaete worm in a subgroup called the Myzostomidae. He says it's very similar to Myzostoma lobifera but it's also much larger than the ones he's collected. Myxostomids are all commensals on other organisms & especially on echinoderms.

Hi Tim -- I wasn't sure either so I sent your image to a friend who works on crinoid commensals. It's an unusual type of polychaete worm in a subgroup called the Myzostomidae. He says it's very similar to Myzostoma lobifera but it's also much larger than the ones he's collected. Myxostomids are all commensals on other organisms & especially on echinoderms.

Thanks!

Graham was sure that you would be able to come up with the species!

Tim

Fabulous and informative.