Paranemertes Peregrina Class: Enopla, Hoplonemertea

Paranemertes peregrina Class: Enopla, Hoplonemertea

Order: Monostilifera, Eumonostilifera “The wanderer” Family: Emplectonematidae

Taxonomy: Coe (1905) found two mor- 1901). photypes within Paranemertes peregrina Mouth: In front of brain and united with pro- (var. alaskensis, var. californiensis) that dif- boscis pore (suborder Monostilifera). fered in size, color and stylet morphology Proboscis: Eversible (phylum Nemertea) (Roe et al. 2007). Whether these mor- and, when not everted, coiled inside rhyncho- photypes represent two difference species coel (cavity). Rhynchocoel half to three- or intraspecific divergence is currently un- quarters body length (genus Paranemertes). known. Proboscis whitish with one (suborder Mono- stilifera) short, stylet (order Hoplonemertea) of Description lengths 85–90 µm (Coe 1905; Stricker and Size: Individuals vary in size from 2–40 cm Cloney 1981). Stylet sculpture is variable and with average size range 15–25 cm (Coe is either with (var. californiensis) (Fig. 4) or 1901; Roe et al. 2007). Northern specimens without spiral grooves (var. alaskensis) (Roe (var. alaskensis, 40 cm) larger than southern et al. 2007). Two (var. californiensis) to four ones (var. californiensis, 10 cm) (Coe 1905). (var. alaskensis) pouches of accessory stylets Color: Dark dorsally, purple or olive green are present, each pouch with 6–10 stylets with head brown. Lighter ventrally, white or (Fig. 3) (Roe et al. 2007). Proboscis eversion pale yellow with mid-ventral section some- can be induced with fresh water or dilute ace- times lighter than the rest. No lines or other tic acid (Haderlie 1980). patterns, except V-shape behind head. General Morphology: Long and slender Possible Misidentifications Body: Elongate, contractile and non- There are five genera of the family segmented (phylum Nemertea). Body soft Emplectonematidae on the Pacific coast, all of but muscular and can lengthen and shorten which have a short proboscis, numerous ocelli easily (Kozloff 1974). and a long, slender body. They are each eas- Anterior: Head usually truncate, a ily differentiable from the genus Paranemer- little larger than body immediately posterior tes: Carcinonemertes is parasitic on crabs; (Coe 1901). No cephalic grooves. A distinct Emplectonema is very slender with 12–14 narrow v-shaped marking just back of the eyes in each of two rows; Nemertopsis and head, but sometimes quite faint. A pair of Dichonemertes have only four ocelli (Coe white transverse lines are apparent on the 1940). lateral anterior-most margins (Fig. 2) (Kozloff Of the five known Pacific species of 1974). Paranemertes, none is as common as P. per- Posterior: No caudal cirrus. egrina. Paranemertes pallida has been found Eyes/Eyespots: Two groups on each side only in Alaska (Coe 1901). Paranemertes of head consist of 5–12 minute ocelli. The carnea, with six accessory stylet pouches, is first group is anterior and arranged along the whitish, pink, or flesh-colored, and is reported antero-lateral margins and the second is ir- only from Alaska to Puget Sound (Coe 1901). regular and near the brain (Fig. 2) (Coe Paranemertes californica is pale gray or or-

A publication of the University of Oregon Libraries and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology Individual species: https://oimb.uoregon.edu/oregon-estuarine-invertebrates and full 3rd edition: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/18839 Email corrections to: [email protected]

Hiebert, T.C. 2015. Paranemertes peregrina. In: Oregon Estuarine Invertebrates: Rudys' Illustrated Guide to Common Species, 3rd ed. T.C. Hiebert, B.A. Butler and A.L. Shanks (eds.). University of Oregon Libraries and Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Charles- ton, OR.

ange anteriorly and gray or salmon posteri- Hiebert pers. obs). Deposits of single or ge- orly, where exterior pigmentation is often ob- latinous clusters of many fertilized eggs can scured by its green digestive tract, and has be found in the warmer months (Coe 1940). not been found north of Monterey Bay (Coe Larva: Lecithotrophic larvae hatch two to 1904). Paranemertes sanjuanensis is beige three days after fertilization and deposition of in color with five stylet pouches having two the eggs, are bullet-shaped, uniformly ciliated to three stylets each (Stricker 1982). Stylets and possess an apical tuft of longer cilia and are spiraled as in P. peregrina with which it 4–6 ocelli and are planktonic for 3–8 weeks co-occurs. Range San Juan Island, WA to (Roe 1976; Malskova and von Döhren 2009). Bodega Bay, CA (Roe et al. 2007). Juvenile: Longevity: 1.5 to 1.75 years where adults Ecological Information may spawn three times (Roe 1976; Haderlie Range: Bering Sea, AK to southern Califor- 1980). nia where it is widely distributed in many Growth Rate: habitats. Food: Diet consists almost entirely of nereid Local Distribution: Coos Bay sites include worms. Although individuals will occasionally Barview, North South Slough, Haynes Inlet, eat the polychaete Polydora sp. Paranemer- Kentuck Inlet, South Slough and Charleston tes peregrina eats Nereis vexillosa and ap- as well as rocky outer shores. pears to prefer the small, timid Platynereis bi- Habitat: Found under a great variety of con- canaliculata, which lives in tubes on Ulva sp. ditions, on rocky shores and mudflats and (Puget Sound). Some syllid polychaetes are amongst mussel beds, seaweeds, coralline partly immune to the venom of Paranemertes algae. Avoids bright light. peregrina (Roe 1971). Salinity: Individuals collected in estuarine Predators: Crabs will eat nemerteans only if habitats as well as open coast at salinities of very hungry and after first cleaning off the mu- 30. cus with their claws (Gibson 1972). Temperature: The wide distribution range Behavior: A diurnal feeder, P. peregrina is would indicate a tolerance of very cold to well known as a voracious, aggressive hunter. temperate conditions. It conducts its haphazard searches when the Tidal Level: Intertidal and below. tide is out and nereids are unable to escape. Associates: Individuals are most abundant as the tide re- Abundance: Common in many habitats with cedes. On cloudy days, individuals have a a maximum average density of 14 worms/m2 temporary burrow to which they retreats on a (Coe 1905), usually less (Haderlie 1975; slime track (Kozloff 1974). Its predatory at- Roe 1979). Easily the most common mud- tacks may involve chemoreception flat nemertean at Charleston. (Amergongen and Chia 1982). During an at- Life-History Information tack, its proboscis wraps around the prey Reproduction: Females may outnumber (e.g., a nereid) and it emits a venomous mu- males in some populations (Washington, cus (toxin anabaseine) (Gibson 1970; Roe Haderlie 1980). Spawning occurs in spring 1971), which stuns the prey for about 20 and summer and eggs take up to six months minutes (Roe 1971). The proboscis then to mature. Eggs are yellow to pinkish in col- withdraws, drawing the prey into the mouth. or and approximately 250 µm in diameter Worms of a great length can be eaten by P. and are surrounded by a large egg chorion peregrina, but not those of a large diameter. (Maslakova and von Döhren 2009; T.

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