Nereis brandti (nereid worm)

Found in area 6.

I found this species with my foot before I saw it with my eyes. It was just underneath the sand and when I stepped on it, the worm moved. It was beautiful. When it moved its skin glistened with blues and greens and grays like the colors on a bubble. The picture shows the worm at its compact length. When I picked it up the worm stretched itself out. It can stretch quite a long way!

It is not common to find Nereis brandti. Usually it has burrowed too deeply. A smaller relative, Nereis vexillosa, is more commonly seen at the surface. It is fully grown at 6 inches. You can see that Nereis brandti is a lot longer and is the largest nereid in Puget Sound.

A biologist told me that at a certain time in the summer in the sandy areas along the shores of Puget Sound these worms will rise and mate and it would surprise anyone walking along to see all the writhing, because there are a lot of them then.