Samoa Palolo
| Samoa Palolo | ||||||||||||
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Palolo with epitaxial rear end |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Palola viridis | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1847 |
The Samoa Palolo ( Palola viridis , Syn. : Eunice viridis ) is a type of Palolowürmer ( Palola ) within the polychaete (Polychaeta). It is the best known and at the same time the type species of this genus. The popularity is due to the special reproductive behavior.
features
The Samoa-Palolo is a typical representative of the Palolo worms with a body length of about 40-70 centimeters. It consists of a variable number of segments, which are equipped with clear parapodies . They have five antennas and typical hook-shaped bristles as well as shovel-shaped mouthparts. The gills are filamentous and not fanned out like other Eunicida. Males are green-blue, females pink to red-brown.
At the time of reproduction, a significantly different abdomen is formed, which mainly contains the gonads ( epitocia ). The epitoke rear end is equipped with special bristles that allow it to move freely. This rear end is pinched off at reproductive time and moves to the surface of the water, where it dissolves and releases the sex products (see below).
It can be found in the area around Samoa and the Fiji Islands in the Pacific Ocean as well as on various of the Lesser Sunda Islands .
Way of life
The Samoan Palolo lives in the hard substrate of the sea floor, bores into the coral rock and only comes out at dusk. Normally it continues to dig tunnels in the limestone and probably feeds almost exclusively on the symbiotic coral algae that live there .
Reproduction
The reproductive behavior of this species is, as with some other polychaetes, very closely linked to the phase change of the moon . So twice a year there is a mass formation of sex products in the animals, whereby in Samoa the Mblalolo lailai (small Palolo time) falls on the second and third day after the third lunar quarter in October and the Mblalolo levu (large Palolo time) exactly one month later takes place. At the eastern tip of Timor , the small mechi kiik takes place in the last quarter of the moon in February and when the moon is new in March, the big mechi boat .
The sex products (eggs and sperm cells) are produced exclusively in the back of the body, which are 30 to 35 cm long (according to another source 12 to 15 cm) and which are pinched off during the reproductive periods and released into the open water. This back body can actively move and swims towards the light (positive phototaxis ) to the surface. At sunrise all abdomen release their eggs and sperm, so that in these phases a meter-thick layer of abdomen, eggs and sperm forms on the surface of the water. The eggs are fertilized here by the sperm , and the trochophora larvae typical of the arthropod worms (Annelida) are formed, from which a new generation of worms emerges.
Taxonomy
The first scientific description of the species was made by John Edward Gray in 1847, who described it as Palola viridis and thus at the same time defined it as a type of the entire genus of the palolo worms . However, he only found the abdomen and did not know the actual worm. It was not until 1898 by Friedländer and in 1899 by Krämer that the front body was also found in the limestone. Due to morphological similarities with the representatives of the genus Eunice , the genus Palola was later dissolved and this species was re-classified as Eunice viridis . Today the old genus has been re-established, but the name E. viridis can still be found in many sources.
Samoa Palolo and Man
The synchronized appearance of the sexual segments of the palolo worms represents a special time for many ethnic groups in the distribution area of the Palolo.
On Samoa and other Pacific islands, the abdomen are considered a delicacy and at the same time an aphrodisiac and fertility aid. For this purpose, the segments are collected and eaten raw, stewed between banana leaves or baked as mbalolo .
On the south coast of the Indonesian island of Lombok , swarms of Samoa Palolos gather for a few days each year. In honor of the worm, the two to three day Bau-Nyale Festival is held, which is part of the musical tradition of Lombok . Thousands of boys and girls sing mythological tales to each other in a contest, flirt with each other and finally jump into the water at the sign of a priest to catch the worms that are later eaten as a delicacy.
For the Fataluku from East Timor , the harvest of the worms called meci is the beginning of a new agricultural year. The event is celebrated on a grand scale at the Mechi in February and March, with the genitals of the worm being eaten raw with chilli and lemon as a salad.
Similar ceremonies are held on Sawu , Roti and in western Sumba .
further reading
- Anton Collin : Comments on the edible palolo worm, Lysidice viridis (Gray) . doi: 10.5962 / bhl.title.46808
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Lisa Palmer, Demétrio do Amaral de Carvalho : Nation building and resource management: The politics of 'nature' in Timor Leste ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link became automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 343 kB) , accessed on December 28, 2012
Web links
- The Palolo Spot
- Various photos including the "catch" of the abdomen
- Eunice viridis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: World Conservation Monitoring Center, 1996. Retrieved October 15, 2013.