Tomopteris

{{Short description|Genus of annelids}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = ''Tomopteris'' | image = Tomopteriskils.jpg | taxon = Tomopteris | authority = Eschscholtz, 1825<ref>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=65460 ITIS Standard Report Page: Tomopteris]</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = *''Tomopteris catharina'' *''Tomopteris elegans'' Chun, 1888<ref>Die pelagische Thierwelt in grösseren Meerestiefen und ihre Beziehungen zu der Oberflächenfauna. K Chun, 1888</ref> *''Tomopteris helgolandica'' *''Tomopteris pacifica'' *''Tomopteris planctonis'' *''Tomopteris nisseni'' *''Tomopteris renata'' *''Tomopteris cavalli'' *''Tomopteris septentrionalis'' <small>Steenstrup</small> }}

The '''gossamer worm''' (scientific name '''''Tomopteris''''', Neo-Latin from Greek meaning "a cut" + "wing" but taken to mean "fin")<ref>[http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?tomopteris Definition: tomopteris from Online Medical Dictionary]</ref> is a genus of marine planktonic polychaetes. All described species are known to be holoplanktic, meaning that they spend their entire life cycles in the water column.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Fernandez-Alamo, MA | title = Tomopterids (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean | journal = Bulletin of Marine Science | volume = 67 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–53 | year = 2000 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2000/00000067/00000001/art00006}}</ref>

E. Newton Harvey had noted the unusual yellow bioluminescence<ref>{{cite book | author = Harvey, Edmund Newton | title = Bioluminescence | publisher = Academic Press | year = 1952 }}</ref> occurring from the parapodia. There are very few known marine animals that exhibit yellow luminescence.<ref name=ucsb>{{cite web|title=tomopteris|url=http://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/pictures/tomopteris.html|work=UCSB|access-date=10 December 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/organism/pictures/tomopteris.html Tomopteris picture]</ref> Many species of plankton are known to display this property of bioluminescence.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Dales, R Phillips | title = Bioluminescence in Pelagic Polychaetes | journal = Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada | volume = 28 | issue = 10 | pages = 1487–1489 | year = 1971 | doi = 10.1139/f71-228 }}</ref> The mechanisms of this process are not well understood; only that they do not use any of the currently known luciferins. If disturbed, a few species are known to release bioluminescent particles from their parapodia, though possibly all species of ''Tomopteris'' do this. It is thought that this mode is to distract predators, analogous to chaff or flares dispensed from military aircraft during evasive maneuvers.

Generally, gossamer worms grow to only a few centimeters in overall length, or {{convert|20|mm|in}} to {{convert|40|mm|in}} in total length, though this is likely to reflect the size of those amenable to being caught in trawl nets.<ref name=speciden>{{cite web|title=Tomopteris helgolandica|url=http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=zmns&id=256|work=Species-Identification|access-date=10 December 2013}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Polychaete genera Category:Bioluminescent annelids