Eulalia picta Kinberg, 1866 – tube builder or specialized predator?

• Published in: Polish Polar Research
• Main Authors: Pabis Krzysztof, Sobczyk Robert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polish Academy of Sciences 2017
• Subjects: Antarctic; Admiralty Bay; tubes; sediments; Eteoninae; Phyllodocidae; Geology; QE1-996.5; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/popore-2017-0024; https://doaj.org/article/a4082abe85f4442c8a33262e1cd79996

Twenty six specimens of the polychaete Eulalia picta were found in fine-grained sand tubes. Material was collected in the Antarctic fjord, Admiralty Bay at the depth of about 100 m. The comparison of tube sediment with the sediment composition at the collection site demonstrated that tubes were created with a high degree of particle selection. Our findings might suggest presence of the tube-building behavior in E. picta or show that this species is a highly specialized predator crawling into the tubes of other sessile polychaetes and uses their tubes as protective cases.