A species of nemertean worm discovered by a Clemson University marine biologist five years ago affects the reproductive performance of Caribbean spiny lobsters, a critical species in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
A species of nemertean worm discovered by a Clemson University marine biologist five years ago affects the reproductive performance of Caribbean spiny lobsters, a critical species in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Antonio Baeza, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, discovered the new worm while researching parental behaviors of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus in the Florida Keys. Baeza good-naturedly named the worm Carcinonemertes conanobrieni after comedian Conan O’Brien because of its physical characteristics — long-bodied and pale with a slight tint of orange.
The worm has been found off the coast of the Colombian and West Indies.
Caribbean spiny lobsters, which get their name from the forward-pointing spines that cover their bodies, live in the Atlantic Ocean’s tropical and subtropical waters as far north as North Carolina, as well as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. They are one of the Caribbean’s most ecologically significant and commercially lucrative species.
Read more at Clemson University
Image: Baeza discovered the Carcinonemertes conanobrieni while he was conducting research on parental behaviors of the Caribbean spiny lobster. Credits: Antonio Baeza/Clemson University
