Now this has to be one of the most interesting and important animals on a shore. Have you often seen spiral piles of sand sitting on the shores? There's usually a small inch-long tube of yellow which seemed to push out the spiral tubes of sand. What's all this about?
The clip shows an acorn worm at work. The first part of the clip is speeded up 4x. And then the regular realtime speed-time insensitive clip follows. Enjoy! (... Let me know if you watch the whole clip without falling asleep. If you have trouble falling asleep, watch the clip! This should cure insomnia.).
These worms swallow up mud, sand and detritus below the surface and poop (or 'cast') out the sand and mud minus some detritus which is absorbs as the sand passes through it. They can be likened to earthworms and help to churn the top layers of sand and mud.
Find out more about this amazing ubiquitous shore creature....without which our shores will be so much more.... solid and compacted.
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