12-Scaled Worm ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

12-Scaled Worm

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Lepidodontus spp.

Size: to 2"

12-scale worms are usually found while separating and cleaning mussels. They seem to be harmless and inoffensive. In the illustration, the head is at the left. There are many varieties, some with more or less scales.

Worms

There are many types of worms, but most species are either too small or too secretive to be found by casual scuba divers. Nudibranchs are shell-less snails that resemble worms, while Teredos are nearly shell-less bivalves that also resemble worms.

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Mussels

Mussels are found everywhere, attached to any solid substrate. Mussels are to the sea what grass is to suburbia. Mussels lack the muscular foot of clams or the large hinge muscle of scallops. Instead, they have a "beard" of tough fibers near the hinge with which they attach themselves.

The Blue Mussel Mytilus edulis, to 4" is the edible mussel. The similar Horse Mussel Modiolus modiolus grows to 6", and is considered inedible. Both types are found from the intertidal zone down to the depths. See entry on barnacles.

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12-Scaled Worm

Worms

Mussels

Howard