Poeobius

Poeobius
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Clade:	Pleistoannelida
Clade:	Sedentaria
Order:	Terebellida
Family:	Flabelligeridae
Genus:	Poeobius Heath, 1930
Species:	P. meseres
Binomial name
Poeobius meseres Heath, 1930

Poeobius is a genus of marine polychaete worm. It contains the single species Poeobius meseres, or balloon worm.[1][2] This is a common and abundant resident in the midwater around the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones, especially in Monterey Bay.[3] They can be found at around 300-2,500 m (980-8,200 ft) depth from Japan to Alaska to the Gulf of California, and have also been reported in South America.[3]

Description

The species is a passive detritivore, using a mucus net to capture marine snow as it hangs neutrally-buoyant midwater.[4] The gelatinous body consist of 11 poorly defined segments with no setae or external segmentation.[5] Only two septa remains, which divides the coelomic cavity into an anterior, middle and posterior coelom. There is no serial duplication of the internal organs.[6] They have a maximum size of 36 mm (1.5 in).[3]

References

1. Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2022). "World Polychaeta Database. Poeobius Heath, 1930". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
2. Burnette, A. B.; Struck, T. H.; Halanych, K. M. (2005). "Holopelagic Poeobius meseres ("Poeobiidae," Annelida) is derived from benthic flabelligerid worms". The Biological Bulletin. 208 (3): 213–220. doi:10.2307/3593153. JSTOR 3593153. PMID 15965126. S2CID 448274.
3. "Balloon Worm". Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. MBARI. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
4. Seid, C. A.; Lindsay, D. J.; Rouse, G. W. (2020). "A new southern record of the holopelagic annelid Poeobius meseres Heath, 1930 (Flabelligeridae)". Biodiversity Data Journal. 8: e58655. doi:10.3897/BDJ.8.e58655. PMC 7723885. PMID 33304120.
5. Struck, T. H. (2006). "Progenetic species in polychaetes (Annelida) and problems assessing their phylogenetic affiliation". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 46 (4): 558–568. doi:10.1093/icb/icj055. PMID 21672766.
6. Beesley, Pamela L.; Glasby, Christopher J.; Ross, Graham J. B.; Australian Biological Resources Study (2000). Polychaetes & Allies: The Southern Synthesis. Csiro Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-06571-0.