The gossamer worm (''Tomopteris'', Neo-Latin from Greek meaning "a cut" + "wing" but taken to mean "fin") is a genus of marine

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made ...

s. All described species are known to be holoplanktic, meaning that they spend their entire life cycles in the water column. E. Newton Harvey had noted the unusual yellow bioluminescence occurring from the

parapodia In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...

. There are very few known marine animals that exhibit yellow luminescence. Many species of plankton are known to display this property of bioluminescence. The mechanisms of this process are not well understood; only that they do not use any of the currently known

luciferin Luciferin (from the Latin ''lucifer'', "light-bearer") is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence. Luciferins typically undergo an enzyme-catalyzed reaction with molecular oxygen. The resul ...

s. If disturbed, a few species are known to release bioluminescent particles from their

, though possibly all species of ''Tomopteris'' do this. It is thought that this mode is to distract predators, analogous to chaff or flares dispensed from military aircraft during evasive maneuvers. Generally, gossamer worms grow to only a few centimeters in overall length, or to in total length, though this is likely to reflect the size of those amenable to being caught in trawl nets.

References

Polychaete genera Bioluminescent annelids {{annelid-stub