''Parborlasia corrugatus'' is a proboscis worm in the family

Lineidae Lineidae is a family of nemertean worms. It contains the following genera: * '' Aetheolineus'' Senz, 1993 * '' Ammolineus'' Senz, 2001 * '' Antarctolineus'' Muller & Scripcariu, 1964 * '' Apatronemertes'' Wilfert & Gibson, 1974 * '' Australineus ...

. It was formerly placed in family

Cerebratulidae Lineidae is a family of nemertean worms. It contains the following genera: * '' Aetheolineus'' Senz, 1993 * '' Ammolineus'' Senz, 2001 * ''Antarctolineus'' Muller & Scripcariu, 1964 * ''Apatronemertes'' Wilfert & Gibson, 1974 * '' Australineus'' ...

. This species of proboscis or ribbon worm can grow to in length, and lives in marine environments down to . This

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume Corpse decomposition, dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a he ...

and

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

is widely distributed in the cold

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Description

''Parborlasia corrugatus'' is smooth and flat. Adults measure , with a diameter of approximately . Specimens can weigh up to . Their colouration is variable, ranging from cream through various tones of black.Peter Brueggeman
''Nemertina, proboscis worms – Underwater Field Guide to Ross Island & McMurdo Sound, Antarctica''
/ref> This worm has a wedge-shaped head containing a cavity filled with fluid. It uses this to fire an adhesive, barbed

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a pr ...

as a means of defense, and to capture prey. This organ has adhesive secretion to aid in securing its meal. Although this creature does not have a dedicated respiratory system, ''Parborlasia corrugata'' is able to obtain oxygen by absorbing it through its skin. An animal of its size would typically find it difficult to receive enough oxygen this way, but this worm has a low metabolic rate, and also enjoys the advantage of its environment, which is cold, oxygen-rich Antarctic waters. When ''Parborlasia corrugata'' experiences lower levels of oxygen in the water, it flattens and elongates its body to aid in the uptake of oxygen by increasing its skin area. This manoeuvre also reduces the distance that the oxygen must travel to diffuse into its body. Potential predators avoid this species as it has a chemical defense: acidic mucus with a pH 3.5.

Distribution

This species is found from the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

to depths of up to . It is found throughout the following areas: *

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica. ...

*south

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Antarctic Invertebrates: Parborlasia fueguina
/ref> *

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

() *

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula South Sandwich Islands The South Sandwich Islands () are a chain of uninhabited volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. They are administered as part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The chain lies in the sub-A ...

() *

South Georgia Island South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

() *

Bouvet Island Bouvet Island ( ; ) is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway. It is a protected nature reserve, and situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it is the world's most extre ...

() *

Kerguelen Island The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic region. They are among the most isolated places on Earth, with the closest t ...

() * Cargados Carajos Shoals in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

() *southern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Densities range greatly from 0.3 m⁻² recorded in

McMurdo Sound The McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica, known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world, located approximately from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841 and named it after Lieutenant ...

, to the substantially higher density of 26.2 m⁻² around

Signy Island Signy Island is a small subantarctic island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the Norway, Norwegian whaling, whaler Petter Sørlle (1884–1933) after his wife, Signy Therese. The island is about long and wide and ri ...

Reproduction

This

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

species broadcast spawns. The resulting pilidium

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

survive in the water column for up to 150 days.

Diet

''Parborlasia corrugatus'' is both a

and a

, and feeds upon detritus

diatoms A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma'') is any member of a large group comprising several Genus, genera of algae, specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways and soils of the world. Living diatoms make up a significant portion of Earth's B ...

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

s, amphipods, isopods, various vertebrate carrion,

sponges Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and ar ...

(including '' Homaxinella balfourensis''),

jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

seastars Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

anemones ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all regions except Australia, New Zealand, and ...

, and

polychaete worm Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are ma ...

References

External links

Images of ''Parborlasia corrugatus'' at Encyclopedia of LifeImages of ''Parborlasia corrugatus'' at WoRMS
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2436196 Lineidae Marine nemerteans Fauna of the Antarctic realm Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Indian Ocean Fauna of the Pacific Ocean Fauna of the Southern Ocean Animals described in 1876

Description

Distribution

Reproduction

Diet

References

Further reading

External links