We Finally Found the Elusive Bristle Worm!

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We’ve spent most of our journey through the microcosmos seeking out the organisms that are too small to see with just the human eye. The bacteria, the ciliates, the tardigrades. Part of what makes them so exciting to find is that they are so tiny. Every moment we spend with one of these organisms is a peek into something exceptional in our experience of the world, and it’s the result of how much work James, our master of microscopes, has put into hunting down as many microbes as he can.
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This video has been dubbed into Spanish (United States) using an artificial voice via aloud.area120.... to increase accessibility. You can change the audio track language in the Settings menu.

[@journeytomicro]

Go to curiositystream.com/microcosmos to start streaming The Science of Cute. Use code "Microcosmos" to sign up -- just $14.99 for the year.

[@xgh5495]

这些生物研究的人很少，你肯定叫不出名字

[@borisgrejcha7263]

excellent quality of the shooting, thank you for your work! Tell me what kind of microscope and objects do you have?

[@chattychatotchannel]

would you be so kind as to make an episode of creatures which make tubes :D that sounds really cool I only know of shipworms and tubeworms and now spaghettiworms

[@nefariousyawn]

If he hasn't already tried it, tell James to look at the tank in the dark using a red light (a lot of nicer flashlights and headlamps have them). That's how I used to spy on bristleworms and other shy aquatic life.

[@rianantony]

Also infrared cams? Guess they're not warm blooded maybe

[@nickcosimano5028]

Yea, many organisms can’t see red, especially aquatic ones.

[@JamsGerms]

Great idea! Thank you! -James

[@TheRealFlenuan]

I immediately thought of this too lol

[@Ealsante]

@@nickcosimano5028 Red light only penetrates a couple metres into the water column. Past that, everything is shifted towards blue. Fascinating how animals evolve to fit their environments.

[@JamsGerms]

Also the name Gunther comes from my favorite show Adventure Time because I often feel like the Ice King!

[@thathobbitlife]

That's awesome! Who doesnt love Adventure Time?! My son was Finn for Halloween last year hehe 😊

[@NewMessage]

Touched one accidentally while working in a tank, and my finger itched and burned for a good 40 minutes. Not a fan of them, neat as they are.

[@Songbearer]

The fact that they can drive tanks is even crazier!

[@samditto]

@@Songbearer nice

[@hadla]

@@Songbearer rotfl best response to a comment! 😂

[@hadla]

@Poop another good response 🤣

[@A.C._Taylor]

Well over a decade ago, I received some live rock. While I was checking the pieces over, I had a bristle worm (unkown sp.) come out onto my hand and boy did I get 'stung'. The area on my hand it made contact with, burned like crazy for days. My skin blistered and became infected. It took quite a while for my skin to heal up from that encounter. Bristle worms may seem delicate but they are far from defenseless. I have never handled live rock without gloves after that.

[@mrrp405]

Sounds like a hair raising experience, I’m glad I haven’t had to experience that yet. Definitely going to keep wearing my boots and gloves around reefs no matter what.

[@A.C._Taylor]

@@mrrp405 LOL real punny. Although I know that not all bristle worms are like that. I do Aire on the side of caution. Once bitten, twice shy kind of thing.

[@jasepoag8930]

Somehow I've had reef tanks for 12+ years, and now work in a store, and I've never gotten tagged by one.

[@A.C._Taylor]

@@jasepoag8930 Well I'm happy that you have not had the pleasure. A lot depends on the suppliers. Those who properly quarantine their corals and live rock, will greatly reduce the chance of having unwanted hitchhikers. I have handled thousands of pounds of live rock for over five decades now and have only had three bristle worm encounters and was only tagged by the one.

[@jasepoag8930]

@@A.C._Taylor Ah, so you're a lifer. With over a decade in, and the washout rate, sometimes I feel like one of the old men in the reefing community. haha

[@scrotusmaximus3043]

You can get truly massive ones in salt water aquariums, 1-2ft long sometimes. They can be insane predators in a close system like an aquarium. Usually hitch hike off coral.

[@driverjayne]

That is.... absolutely horrifying...

[@23dunmc]

Nasty buggers

[@johnathanclayton2887]

The "The Bobbit Worm Chronicles" is a fun read. It documents one unfortunate aquarium keeper's efforts to rid himself of a four foot long bobbit worm, which is a type of bristle worm.

[@jMILESaNo]

Mannnn!!! It’s like every piece of live rock that I purchased I got so many pest that I didn’t want, the bristle worms in my tank were usually about 2 to 3 inches long. I did the thing where you suspend the live rock over a bucket of water for days till they finally come out. Lost lots of bacteria but I didn’t want those bristle worms getting too much bigger in my tank

[@Kurominos1]

@@jMILESaNo bristelworms do actually no harm lol ? these guys eat dead stuff algae ,,and other thigns oyu generally dont want in your tank while themself are quite harmless even the bigger ones the thing your fearing are prob bearded fireworm or fireworms in generall theyr also brisstleworms and look like in most cases like the harmless ones but come a lot rarer into fishtanks in the end you got rid of something quite usefull in your tank

[@tiredapplestar]

I myself, present a limp and bedraggled appearance when withdrawn from the mud.

[@Graphomite]

wormlife.

[@spencertaberski5668]

As someone who keeps salt water aquariums it's good to learn about bristle worms. The microscopic ones are neat but the big ones are still unwelcome I'm my tanks

[@andersschmich8600]

Oh yeah, I have loads in mine. I once got 'stung' by one while doing a tank cleaning.

[@slappy8941]

Why are they so onerous?

[@andersschmich8600]

@@slappy8941 Honestly in my experience they are mostly fine, harmless detritovores, just don't ouch them!

[@jasepoag8930]

Standard bristle worms are fine, it's the Eunice and bobbitt worms you've gotta look out for.

[@spencertaberski5668]

@@jasepoag8930 I'd rather just not lol

[@derrickthewhite1]

I've always considered Annelid worms to be one of the major groups of the animal kingdom. Seeing an "Annelid worm" is like seeing a "Snail", or a "Fish": there is so much diversity still to find. Thanks for showing them!

[@Wtfinc]

I don't get why it's their white whale, I'm only two minutes in so, but go to any saltwater aquarium and get any "live rock" or sand and you will have those nasty seemingly invasive worms withing a few weeks. They plague saltwater aquariums sometimes if I'm not mistaken. I haven't had saltwater tanks in over 10 years so I forgot alot of things about the subject. I dare not say hobby, I wish there was a better word than hobby or amateur, especially when you are both and neither. Science is fun.

[@derrickthewhite1]

@@Wtfinc probably because most things involving Hank Green are based out of Montana, which is nearly eight hundred miles from the nearest ocean, and aquariums like to get rid of pests rather than passing them along in the mail. So its difficult for them to get certain marine samples. EDIT: As it turns out I am mistaken and the microscopes are somewhere in central europe.

[@Wtfinc]

@@derrickthewhite1 ahh, i see

[@crow-jane]

@@derrickthewhite1 All the microscopy work is done in Poland by James, and he sources all the samples himself. What Hank may or may not have access to isn’t really a factor in what we end up seeing.

[@derrickthewhite1]

@@crow-jane I didn't know that. Huh, then I wonder why they haven't gone for more local ocean samples. I'd guess they have enough to photograph with terrestrial and aquatic samples, but that would be just a guess.

[@dylaneverett4586]

Minor note regarding the video: Terrebellid worms aren't just tripical, we get them in waters of the UK, too!

[@exeter7414]

James may be the Master of Microscopes, but he is also the Ice King.

[@JamsGerms]

Gunther! What is your damage today? -IK

[@nawapolachawanantakul5850]

Me and my daughter have to watch your show everynight or else she won’t go to sleep

[@KOKO-uu7yd]

LOL! That makes me nostalgic for my kids younger days. We would do a lot of stuff like that. Good for you, for setting such a neat and world expanding routine!!🤩👏👏

[@adamSmith_1723]

That's amazing! Hopefully she will become a world leading expert on protists or a researcher who finds a cure to malaria ! Best luck to your daughter! ☣️🔬🧪🧬📑🦠🦠

[@user-hnjga8is1zr6u]

Organisms that don't look good or even dangerous to us are...so cute here. Didn't expect to see those beady little dots on their head, just like tardigrades' super super cute eyespots. Such beautiful souls living in beautiful bodies.

[@theguything]

GREAT episode - I figure the 10 ft worm mentioned is a bobbit worm, and they have INSANE capabilities. Truly fascinating, terrifying, and humbling creatures

[@nickcosimano5028]

The coolest bristle worm I found was Odontosyllis enopla during its short breeding time. That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.

[@elliephants7047]

these might be the coolest things you've shown! they're so intricate- and that one that was orange and opalescent, *neat*.

[@EpicMudbud]

As a coral reef tank keeper, I can't wait to see what other videos will come from that coral order. My reef tanks are the reason I ordered your microscope Kickstarter.

[@wittywarbler1117]

I am a MASSIVE worm fan, big or small. Thank you.

[@stillprocrastinating4308]

I studied marine biology and we found a bristle worm a couple of times and since then they've been one of my favourite things. definitely my favourite microscopic thing, including tardigrades!

[@evaceratops]

i’ve been volunteering in the polychate collections at my local natural history museum for a little while and they really are so interesting! people tend to think of worms as simple, but polychaetes are anything but that. unfortunately most of the worms i work with are dead ones that have been preserved, but on the few occasions i’ve been able to watch live ones under the microscope, there’s always been something hypnotic about them!

[@henrykrider179]

"James received........ a package" is how you know you're about to see something cool

[@dragonpaws]

I wish I had known you guys were looking for these haha, I have several aquarist friends in Europe I could've reached out to! super cool

[@soogymoogi]

Working at a pet store with a lot of marine fishkeepers, I've heard horror stories about these guys.

[@jimmyjames2022]

Not even an oblique mention of the Bobbit Worm (by name not length)? Macro-phobic!

[@lknanml]

OK. Stay with me here. Why not take a LARGE sheet of Lexan, glass or what have you and build a light table with the lexan sheet as the top. (Back light table top) Now give it some VERY small side walls and then make a bunch of square ribs to take the weight of the top sheet as well as confine all the mini monsters to a single square. Fill the space inbetween with your preferred medium of tiny worldlings. Suspend your camera or microscope so it can transverse the entire giant slide you just made and have a system that slowly moves the camera up and down the entire slab while recording. If thin enough I would think it would stay in focus and slowly find everything there is to find and since you have a mass of grids anything recorded would be easy to find again after watching the video.

[@jasonjaeger4042]

My son's dentist office had one of the most beautiful saltwater tanks I've seen. Gorgeous coral, but I saw about a 9" bristle worm and many small ones. I told the dentist they would destroy the tank but he didn't listen. The next time we were there, all the coral was dead and there was 1 fish swimming around.

[@CrowSongProductions]

My God, I just love the enthusiasm with which you present all of this knowledge, it's enthralling to watch!

[@victoriawilliams2786]

Fascinating, as always. Thank-you so much for teaching me so much. I love the narrator's voice. (Sorry I can't remember your name. Please forgive me?) I hope James has better luck with Gunther. I seem to recall someone, on a channel about fish tanks, using a red light in the dark to be able to see nocturnal creatures. Just an idea.

[@Xaiff]

😂😂😂

[@waterlily716]

Narrator is hank green :)

[@GaiaCarney]

Great video, Thanks Journey to the Microcosmos!

[@valeriegrey8328]

small detail but i really appreciate you putting a new word on the screen when you say it. helps my comprehension

[@WAMTAT]

I hope Gunther is living their best life.

[@LegoCookieDoggie]

I’ve seen a large bristle worm like Gunther before in the the Cal Academy tank they are such a sight

[@Iammrspickley]

Always during your videos, with in the background the musical sounds, the easy, relaxed pace in which the soft voice carefully exposes me to the information....a unique zenlike (it's probably not zen, but forgive me the use of the word) state takes hold of my normally chaotic scattered all over the place brain.....thank you....it really helps....and I love to see and learn about a world so close by but still so far away.

[@bubblebaath7840]

got recommended this because i have a bunch of common bristle worms in my tank which I never cared about because they're detritivores and keep the tank clean but recently I've had an outbreak of fireworms that killed all 3 of my starfish within a week so I'm trying to find a way to get rid of them

[@PeterVJaspersFayer]

Excellent Episode.! Loved the photograph, and loved the narration. THANK YOU!

[@RhynoD2]

I'd love to see a bristle up close! In some species they are barbed and will break off in your skin, causing itching and burning.

[@crath3570]

Hopefuly y’all get a sample of lps polyp. It would be interesting to actually see the isolated pigments

[@wynoglia]

Its crazy how there are microscopic miniature versions of living beings we can see with our naked eyes Its as if some dlc rolled out at one point in history This life is wild

[@KP3droflxp]

You can see Polycheates quite well without a microscope, the ones in the video were probably about 0.5 - 1 cm

[@S-T-E-V-E]

It's hard to believe that the Bobbit Worm or Eunice Aphroditois is in the same family as these guys. It's amazing (though not uncommon) the niches that one species can fill given time to evolve into their various forms!

[@isbestlizard]

Aww it's so cute, Nintendo should make a bristleworm pokemon :D

[@maninblk]

If only Mr. Green would speak calmly, like this, all of the time. Another great video, thank you.

[@Efsiksotu]

Happy hunting, interesting creature

[@WarMarsM]

You guys want some plankton samples from monterey bay? My class collects them weekly, and most of the samples just go down the drain after being analyzed. I've seen several polychaete worms this semester.

[@jopmens6960]

soo.. have a light source that can do more partial spectra, then manipulate video from a spectrum that doesnt scare it off to get some images - including night vision / IR

[@deltaroo420]

I had a saltwater tank when I was in college and ended up with a bristleworm hitch hiker on a reef rock I bought. He would poke out of the rock every now and then. When I was moving the tank and tried bagging up all my fish and other critters I couldn't get him in a bag so I reached my hand in to scoop him up. Big mistake, I ended up getting stung by all the bristles, it wasn't an immediate sharp sting but I could see a ton of bristles stuck in my hand and it started to burn pretty badly.

[@Adrianalopez-ki4hd]

Gunther is a beautiful Dorvilleidae!!

[@kerrykrishna]

I will never get tired of your Vids.

[@ahather]

polychetes are super great, love them, first came across them as a teenager when an internet friend introduced me to the existence of Eunice aphroditois

[@raul0el0jecito]

That is so cool! I remember the first time I saw one of these in person, it was truly one of the best days of my life :')

[@jasepoag8930]

The bristle worm in that tank appears to be a eunice worm of some sort. If you've got fish and coral in there, I'd remove it. Also, I work at a coral farm/store. If you wanted bristle worms, we've got plenty I'm sure. lol The cirratulus worm looks more like what we call a spaghetti worm in the trade. Never seen the second one.

[@theguything]

I was looking for a comment mentioning a eunice worm warning - 👍

[@jasepoag8930]

@@theguything yep, I don't like the look of those head tentacles. I don't know how to reliably tell them apart from bobbitt worms, and those things fill me with a black dread.

[@MrPooPooJohn]

Great video. These guys are so fascinating

[@kasper1787]

Please do another kickstarter for your microscope bundle!!!!

[@megatronyeets]

Is The Bobbit worm the 10ft bristle worm you mentioned?

[@r-pupz7032]

Phenomenal. This is my favourite channel. Thank you to you, James and everyone who works hard to bring these marvels to us 🐛💜

[@unknownuser41190]

I have an Axanthic Hognose snake named Gunther lol And hognoses are burrowing snakes. How funny.

[@musicmancer]

It looks like that prehistoric worm where it wasn't clear which side was up for it! I can see the similar dichotomy of stretchy legs and stiffer bristles.

[@miswilks5567]

Oh my favorite ones so far very fascinating thank you

[@Stierenkloot]

Beautiful footage!

[@nickalvarez1]

The size difference between these things are crazy.

[@crazyboutferrets]

Bristleworms are everywhere in my reef tank

[@galaxiaknight]

nothing and no one prepared me for the disembodied spanish voice that replaced hank's calming voice

[@yanj111]

wow, that's amazing!

[@JonathenPetrie]

James might have better luck spotting Gunther with a red flashlight. Most invertebrates can't see red.

[@elfascinantemundodelosinse4393]

Me alegro mucho que esten subiendo los videos en latino!!!!

[@scottydog1313]

You sure as hell don't want one in your aquarium. They're a giant PITA to get rid of, and can wreak havoc if left in there.

[@jakobraahauge7299]

Some of the local kids would catch bristeworms for bait as we grew up - I didn't like doing that. I found them both icky - and I felt bad for them. Not a great combo! 🤭 Ooh! And read a very beautiful interview with John (Green...) about his book of of essays. It has a very funky title in Danish, "Fra hulemalerier til hotdogs. Essays om menneskets tidsalder" [from cave paintings to hotdogs. Essays about the anthropocene (or rather the age of Man.)] There was a gorgeous photo of him by Marina Waters - so a day full of Greens (and very happily so) here in Denmark 🤗

[@AlyxGlide]

Still amazes me that we came from such a small microcosm

[@AQueuePeeW]

What a nice penguin!

[@koningmariskaa]

Gunther is a good name for a bristle worm🙌

[@AnnoyingNewslettersPage6]

Bristle worms - gotta catch 'em all!

[@therongjr]

I'm terrified of centipedes above all other things, but these are kinda OK: almost like long tardigrades. Except that one at 7:12; that one can go right back to the coral farm!

[@MilesPrower69420]

i rowed a boat in the PNW with my hands and the water was full of 20cm long or more bristle worms! I had the misfortune of hitting one with my hand

[@newt7743]

I love polychaete worms. Great video guys

[@manco828]

OK that 20 cm one is scaring the crap out of me.

[@alansze9580]

If you want to catch Gunther try a bristle worm trap

[@robertoluque]

Awesome work, keep it up!

[@merthynia]

I’d love to send you more bristle worm types from my tanks.

[@cletuswyns]

Finally! I’ve been waiting

[@Guydude777]

Wonderful footage

[@JayZoop]

Wow! Great video. So how many cells make up one segment of a tentacle?

[@jonash6070]

Thanks for showing that the creatures in my nightmares are real. I will sleep not better tonight.

[@AlexAzureOtaku]

never thought i'd find a worm so cute

[@CharlotteBeaulieu-Curtin]

Who lives in a burrow underground the sand? Gunther!

[@pandiem]

Some certain artists would love this video.

[@bigbrady2244]

Good stuff guys

[@injunsun]

@Journey to the Microcosmos: How closely are annelids related to arthropods? Are these "worms" basal organisms, related to arthropods and our earliest ancestral worm to proto-fish ancestors? A genetic and fossil analysis would be cool.

[@KP3droflxp]

They are more closely related to arthropods than to vertebrates, but currently they are not considered as a sister group, nematodes are thought to be closest to arthropods instead since they also shed their skin (among other traits).

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@erniemathews5085]

The bristle worm made me subscribe.

[@anne-droid7739]

Definitely better than "Squirm." Five stars!

[@meegssan5716]

Excellent

[@omnijack]

At around 0:59 the stenostomum very clearly matrix-dodges some (bacteria?) even though it ignored other organisms. Why is that?

[@elfascinantemundodelosinse4393]

Excelente me encanto!!!!!

[@amandadonegan2137]

Ive now got 2 freshwater aquariums with no fish...largest critters in there are asellus aquaticus...lve now discovered cyclops and some other miniscule things..... Im getting a magnifying glass...as lm praying l can find hydras and tardigrades then...dont know if theres any bristleworms as l have gravels rather than sand...

[@JonathenPetrie]

I'd love to see some Chlamydomonas reinhardtii on this channel. Flagellates are cool

[@sciencenerd7639]

wow!

[@jastermereel4946]

dang i love yall and everything but that thumbnail had me thinkin it was a curiostity archive video lol

[@GoingtoHecq]

Imagining having eyes on my butt like a bristle worm. I guess I would have a couple of parking cameras.

[@thatrandombananaunderyourb7337]

What branch in microbiology specifically gets to study microscopic organisms, and not have to take patients?

[@miriamg495]

Environmental microbiology/microbial ecology, for one! Although most microbial ecologists don't spend a lot of time looking at cool microbes through a microscope, sadly. We're more likely to spend our time sorting through their DNA to find evidence of all the ones we couldn't catch.

[@thatrandombananaunderyourb7337]

@@miriamg495 Which one gets to study them the most through microscopes, and if you don’t get to look at them that often can you use the microscopes during free time? Also how much does it pay? What determines the pay? Do most microbial microbiologists work at Laboratories or do you go out to find bacteria?

[@miriamg495]

@@thatrandombananaunderyourb7337 So, I can't answer all of your questions, but I'll answer what I can. I'm not sure who uses microscopes the most. I can tell you that since I started teaching introductory biology, I've used them a lot more than I ever did when working on my PhD! And yes, sometimes I play with the microscopes in my spare time : ) As a professor at a small liberal arts college, I get paid about $55,000 per year. That's higher than what a laboratory technician would probably get paid, but lower than what a professor at a large research university would earn. Microbial ecologists generally work at universities, though some work for other laboratories like the US Department of Agriculture labs. And other microbiologists who aren't microbial ecologists could work for hospital laboratories examining samples from patients (without directly working with patients), or for places like state public health or natural resources departments doing things like water quality monitoring, or for industries such as factories that make cheese and other foods.

[@thatrandombananaunderyourb7337]

@@miriamg495 Are parasitologists the ones who take samples from patients without directly working with them? Or Bacteriologists?

[@KP3droflxp]

@@thatrandombananaunderyourb7337 Parasitology involves a lot of poop though. Bacteriologists usually don't use microscopes too much either, you can identify most of them via DNA and colony shape. Consider looking into functional morphology of arthropods. You don't necessarily look at microscopic organisms (some microscopic arthropods maybe) but at least you use microscopes a lot.

[@zolacnomiko]

I looooooove spaghetti worms! One of my favorite tide pool buddies.

[@armedjaquar]

I recently watched the Kurtzgesagt video, on the brain eating amoeba and I was wondering if you could do a video about its microscopic structure...???