Tomopteris: The Swimming Worm

What comes to mind when you think of a worm?  Probably a creepy, crawly, slimy critter living deep down in the dirt.  Maybe you think about the worms that you might find on the sidewalk after a rain just lying there until the early bird catches them.  Some people might even think about the worms that they put on their fishing hooks to use as bait.  No matter which version you are thinking of, it is probably a slow moving little creature that does not do much except crawl through the dirt and get eaten by other animals.

But there is a worm swimming through the oceans that is nothing like what you picture.  That worm is called Tomopteris and it is a very rapid predator.  Tomopteris does not have the long circular look of an earthworm.  Instead it has paddles coming out on both sides of all of its segments.  Tomopteris is really designed like a canoe – if a canoe held dozens of people!  Tomopteris swims by moving all of those paddles in a wave-like motion.  It can swim very fast and chases other smaller plankton through the ocean.  This worm is fast like a fox chasing a mouse!