An extraordinarily large specimen of the polychaete worm Eunice aphroditois (Pallas) (Order Eunicea) from Shirahama, Wakayama, central Japan

Abstract

A large specimen of Eunice aphroditois (Pallas) (Annelida, Polychaeta, Eunicea, Eunicidae) was collected from a mooring raft for fish culture at Seto Fishing Harbor, Shirahama, Japan, on January 16, 2009. The raft had been in use for 13 years and the worm was hidden in one of its floats. This worm, measuring 299 cm long with 673 segments, and weighing 433 g, is one of the largest specimens of this species ever recorded from the temperate and tropical seas of the world.