http://gallery.pictopia.com/providerasset/1/pictopia_logo.pnghttp://gallery.pictopia.com/providerasset/1/pictopia_logo.pnghttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/2008-09-12T15:04:10Z2008-09-12T15:04:10ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737403/

Corkscrew gills and grooved feeding tentacles splay from a spaghetti worm, one of the many thousands of worm species that live at sea. This reef dweller protects its six-inch (15 centimeters) body in a sand-and-mucus tube while its appendages drift, snagging detritus and distracting foes.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737403&size=128&m=1221257050.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737403&size=128&m=1221257050.0Oahu, Hawaii. A spaghetti worm with tentacles.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737403/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-10-22T15:37:41ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737407/

Spawning on a summer night, fire worms emit clouds of eggs and sperm at high tide—a performance triggered by the full moon. Harpoon-like bristles filled with a neurotoxin protect the worms, which inhabit shallow reefs and feed on crustaceans and anemones. Hawaiians call the worm 'aha huluhulu, "hairy cord."

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737407&size=128&m=1193092661.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737407&size=128&m=1193092661.0Kaneohe Bay, Coconut Island, Oahu, Hawaii. Fireworms at the ocean surface.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737407/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-07-26T12:26:22ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737390/

Tidying the sea, feather duster worms wave plankton-catching tentacles above a coral head covered with stringy anemones and soft corals (green). A nibbling fish or even a passing shadow triggers a duster's giant nerve fibers to retract the feathers with lightning speed. They slowly unfurl again once the danger is gone.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737390&size=128&m=1185477982.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737390&size=128&m=1185477982.0Kaneohe Bay, Coconut Island, Oahu, Hawaii. Feather duster worms on coral.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737390/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-02-09T23:41:18ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737392/

The feather duster worms' leathery hideaway tubes are secretions of mucus-coated silt; pulled from its tube, a worm's body uncurls to about four inches (ten centimeters).

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737392&size=128&m=1171093278.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737392&size=128&m=1171093278.0Kaneohe Bay, Coconut Island, Oahu, Hawaii. Large feather duster worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737392/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T13:01:01ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737391/

Carnivorous worms use their jaws to nab other worms, shrimps, or even fish much larger than themselves.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737391&size=128&m=1168981261.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737391&size=128&m=1168981261.0Oahu, Hawaii. Bristle worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737391/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:59:28ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737394/

An acoel is a tiny flatworm without a gut. Denizen of stony shallows, photosynthetic algae in its skin help nourish it.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737394&size=128&m=1168981168.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737394&size=128&m=1168981168.0Kewalo Basin, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. An acoel flatworm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737394/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:58:45ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737396/

More complex than a flatworm, an acorn worm uses its smooth proboscis to nose through sand, sieving nutrients from the sediments. It has a liver (the nubs along its body) and gill slits like those of sharks — and embryonic humans. Its noxious skin puts off predators, and its head (collared section) can regenerate in days if severed.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737396&size=128&m=1168981125.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737396&size=128&m=1168981125.0Paiko Peninsula, Oahu, Hawaii. An acorn worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737396/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:57:54ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737398/

A peanut worm, named for its plump trunk, comes in some 350 different species. Found from the shallows to the ocean depths, peanuts may burrow into mud or rock, squeeze into a coral crevice, or pilfer an empty shell to keep its body safe. Off Hawaii, peanut worms can form dense colonies, their ungainly shapes hidden by thousands of tentacles dancing in the current.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737398&size=128&m=1168981074.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737398&size=128&m=1168981074.0Kahala Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii. The feeding tentacles of a peanut worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737398/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:57:18ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737399/

A peanut worm's crown of pink tentacles, which gather detritus for food and absorb oxygen, emerges from a neck-like extension housing the head and mouth.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737399&size=128&m=1168981038.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737399&size=128&m=1168981038.0Kahala Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii. The feeding tentacles of a peanut worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737399/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:56:41ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737401/

When a peanut worm is threatened, it hides its head.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737401&size=128&m=1168981001.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737401&size=128&m=1168981001.0Kahala Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii. A peanut worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737401/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:56:03ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737402/

Most worms of the Eunicidae family are roving feeders. They leave their burrows to swim through the shallows with paddle-like appendages, hunting and scavenging.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737402&size=128&m=1168980963.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737402&size=128&m=1168980963.0Oahu, Hawaii. A polychaete worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737402/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:54:48ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737404/

Jawless worms, like this juvenile, filter sediments they gather with their long, creeping tentacles. Such polychaetes—meaning many bristles—may be as wispy as a blade of grass or as thick as a garden hose.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737404&size=128&m=1168980888.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737404&size=128&m=1168980888.0Shark's Cove, Oahu, Hawaii. A polychaete worm with tentacles.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737404/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:53:04ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737410/

A net of fine hairs, shown in a close-up of a feather duster worm's tentacles, sweeps particle-laden water to grooved tracks, which carry the particles—including food and silt for building its protective tube—to the animal's mouth. Bright colors may warn would-be predators of toxicity.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737410&size=128&m=1168980784.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737410&size=128&m=1168980784.0Kaneohe Bay, Coconut Island, Oahu, Hawaii. Feather duster worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737410/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:24:43ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737450/

Plucked from the gut of a fisherman's catch, this parasitic worm is named after the ono fish that hosts it, ono meaning "good to eat" in Hawaiian. The worm "smelled to high heaven," says photographer Darlyne Murawski. "It was full of blood." Such parasites, called trematodes, take up residence in other animals, feed on and reproduce within them, and then either kill the host or escape. Their bodies are almost entirely dedicated to reproduction.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737450&size=128&m=1168979083.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737450&size=128&m=1168979083.0Kewalo Basin, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. Trematode worm, or ono.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737450/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:22:50ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737451/

Microscopic, nearly clear, and covered in hair, a gastrotrich is one of the smallest aquatic worms, inhabiting the minuscule space between sediment particles. Yet each has a mouth, a complete gut, and both sperm and eggs (it reproduces without mating). This specimen, from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, may appear full of eggs, but is not. A single egg would take up nearly half its body cavity.

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737451&size=128&m=1168978970.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737451&size=128&m=1168978970.0Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. A gastrotrich worm seen under the microscope.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737451/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms2007-01-16T12:22:09ZDarlyne A. Murawski/National Geographic Image Collectionhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737452/

Unfurling marvels, ribbon worms vary from a few inches long to nearly 200 feet (60 meters)—the longest animals on the planet. Voracious predators that hide under rocks in intertidal zones or in the open sea, many are equipped with neurotoxin-tipped barbs on their proboscises for impaling other worms, their main prey. One of the toxins found in ribbon worms, anabaseine, shows potential for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. (This species, Baseodiscus delineatus, had not been seen before in Hawaii.)

//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737452&size=128&m=1168978929.0//pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=318&ptp_photo_id=natgeo:737452&size=128&m=1168978929.0Kewalo Basin, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. A nemertean ribbon worm.http://gallery.pictopia.com/natgeo/gallery/12441/photo/737452/In the Magazine/Past Issues/February 2007/February 2007 Hawaiian Worms