Comment below if you know what this creature is.
They are found on the seashore, this one in February 2010, very near Tain.
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Comment below if you know what this creature is.
They are found on the seashore, this one in February 2010, very near Tain.
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A new mystery object will follow soon.
Sea Mouse – Aphrodite aculeate
Well done Dave and Steph who got this right and Fay also knew what this was.
Despite its appearance the sea mouse is actually a segmented worm belonging to the same phylum as earthworms.
The oval body is covered in a double row of scales. These are covered in dense grey brown bristles which can look like mouse fur when it is washed up on a beach. The bristles along the side show blue, green and red iridescence.
The sea mouse lives burrowed in sand and is occasionally found washed up on beaches, most frequently in late winter or early spring. It is predatory on other worms.
Hi,
I think it is a sea-mouse (Aphrodita aculeata). It is actually a kind polychaete worm, like a rag-worm. They certainly are curious looking things. I’ve only seen it once before near St Andrews.
Cheers,
Dave and Steph
Ah hah – haven’t seen these on Dornoch beach since 8.3.98 (I wrote it in my book)
Ugly? Or what!