Aphrodita

{{Short description|Genus of marine worms}} {{For|the Ancient Greek goddess|Aphrodite}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Aphrodita aculeata (Sea mouse).jpg | image_caption = ''Aphrodita aculeata'' | taxon = Aphrodita | authority = Linnaeus, 1758<ref name=WoRMS/> | display_parents = 3 | type_species = ''Aphrodita aculeata'' | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms = }}

'''''Aphrodita''''' is a genus of marine polychaete worms found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="eb"/>

Several members of the genus are known as "sea mice".

==Etymology==

thumb|Dorsal view, removed from water

The name of the genus is taken from Aphrodite, the Ancient Greek goddess of love, said to be because of a resemblance to human female genitalia.<ref name="ThoughtCo">{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Jennifer |date=1 October 2019 |title=Profile of the Sea Mouse Ocean Worm |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/sea-mouse-profile-2291398 |access-date=29 September 2021 |website=ThoughtCo}}</ref> The English name may derive from the animal's similarity, when washed up on shore, to a bedraggled house mouse.<ref>{{cite book | title=Ocean: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed | publisher=DK Publishing | year=2006 | location=New York City | isbn=978-0-7566-2205-3 | edition=first American | page=276 | chapter=Ocean Life | editor1-last=Warren | editor1-first=Rebecca | editor2-last=van Zyl | editor2-first=Miezan | editor3-last=O'Rourke | editor3-first=Ruth | editor4-last=Tokeley | editor4-first=Amber | editor5-last=Heilman | editor5-first=Christine}}</ref>

==Description== ''Aphrodita'' adults generally fall within a size range of {{convert|7.5|to|15|cm|in}}, with some growing to {{convert|30|cm|in}}. The body is covered in a dense mat of parapodia and ''setae'' (hairlike structures).<ref name="eb" /> The animal lacks eyes, feeling its way with two pairs of appendages close to the mouth. Several small, bristly, paddle-like appendages provide locomotion. ''Aphrodita'' are hermaphroditic, having functional reproductive organs of both sexes, with the eggs of one individual being fertilised by the sperm of another.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/sea-mouse|title=Sea Mouse|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>

==Structural coloration== {{Further|Structural coloration}}

The spines, or ''setae''<ref name="eb" /> on the back of the animal are a unique feature. Normally, these have a deep red sheen. But when light shines on them perpendicularly, they flush green and blue – a "remarkable example of photonic engineering by a living organism". This structural coloration is a defense mechanism, giving a warning signal to potential predators. The effect is produced by many hexagonal cylinders within the spines, which are said to perform much more efficiently than man-made optical fibres.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1099278.stm | title=Sea mouse promises bright future | publisher=BBC | work=BBC News | date=January 3, 2001 | access-date=April 26, 2012}}</ref>

==Feeding==

''Aphrodita'' are typically scavengers.<ref name="eb">{{cite encyclopedia | title=sea mouse | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | access-date=April 26, 2012 | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/530649/sea-mouse}}</ref> However, ''Aphrodita aculeata'' is an active predator,<ref name="Tyler">{{cite web|last1=Tyler|first1=Lizzie|title=BIOTIC Species Information for Aphrodita aculeata|url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic/browse.php?sp=4405|website=Biological Traits Information Catalogue|access-date=24 December 2014}}</ref> feeding primarily on small crabs, hermit crabs, and other polychaete worms such as ''Pectinaria''.<ref name="Tyler" />

==Species== Species recognized by the World Register of Marine Species:<ref name=WoRMS>{{cite web |url= http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=129194 |title= ''Aphrodita'' Linnaeus, 1758 |last1= Fauchald |first1= Kristian |last2=Bellan |first2=Gérard |date=2008 |website= World Polychaeta database |publisher= World Register of Marine Species |access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref> {{Div col}} *''Aphrodita abyssalis'' Kirkegaard, 1996 *''Aphrodita aculeata'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Aphrodita acuminata'' Ehlers, 1887 *''Aphrodita alta'' Kinberg, 1856 *''Aphrodita annulata'' Pennant, 1777 *''Aphrodita aphroditoides'' (McIntosh, 1885) *''Aphrodita armifera'' Moore, 1910 *''Aphrodita audouini'' Castelnau, 1842 *''Aphrodita australis'' Baird, 1865 *''Aphrodita bamarookis'' Hutchings & McRae, 1993 *''Aphrodita bisetosa'' Rozbaczylo & Canahuire, 2000 *''Aphrodita brevitentaculata'' Essenberg, 1917 *''Aphrodita californica'' Essenberg, 1917 *''Aphrodita clavigera'' Freminville, 1812 *''Aphrodita daiyumaruae'' Imajima, 2005 *''Aphrodita decipiens'' (Horst, 1916) *''Aphrodita defendens'' Chamberlin, 1919 *''Aphrodita diplops'' Fauchald, 1977 *''Aphrodita echidna'' Quatrefages, 1866 *''Aphrodita elliptica'' *''Aphrodita falcifera'' Hartman, 1939 *''Aphrodita goolmarris'' Hutchings & McRae, 1993 *''Aphrodita hoptakero'' Otto in Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1832 *''Aphrodita japonica'' Marenzeller, 1879 *''Aphrodita kulmaris'' Hutchings & McRae, 1993 *''Aphrodita limosa'' (Horst, 1916) *''Aphrodita longicornis'' Kinberg, 1855 *''Aphrodita longipalpa'' Essenberg, 1917 *''Aphrodita macroculata'' Imajima, 2001 *''Aphrodita magellanica'' Malard, 1891 *''Aphrodita malayana'' (Horst, 1916) *''Aphrodita malkaris'' Hutchings & McRae, 1993 *''Aphrodita maorica'' Benham, 1900 *''Aphrodita marombis'' Hutchings & McRae, 1993 *''Aphrodita mexicana'' Kudenov, 1975 *''Aphrodita modesta'' Quatrefages, 1866 *''Aphrodita negligens'' Moore, 1905 *''Aphrodita nipponensis'' Imajima, 2003 *''Aphrodita obtecta'' Ehlers, 1887 *''Aphrodita parva'' Moore, 1905 *''Aphrodita perarmata'' Roule, 1898 *''Aphrodita refulgida'' Moore, 1910 *''Aphrodita rossi'' Knox & Cameron, 1998 *''Aphrodita roulei'' Horst, 1917 *''Aphrodita scolopendra'' Bruguière, 1789 *''Aphrodita sericea'' Castelnau, 1842 *''Aphrodita sibogae'' (Horst, 1916) *''Aphrodita sondaica'' Grube, 1875 *''Aphrodita sonorae'' Kudenov, 1975 *''Aphrodita talpa'' Quatrefages, 1866 *''Aphrodita terraereginae'' Haswell, 1883 *''Aphrodita tosaensis'' Imajima, 2001 *''Aphrodita watasei'' Izuka, 1912 {{div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050420173345/http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/theory/seamouse/ Sea Mouse images] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825130646/http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/theory/seamouse/PressClippings/photonic.pdf A Natural Photonic Crystal]

Category:Phyllodocida