Behaviour
When the scaleworm is attached to its host, it does not move. However, when threatened, the worms locate near the anterior and posterior ends of the holothurians (host) and hide in the oral or cloacal openings of the host (Britayev & Zamishliak, 1996). This might be a reason for the sudden appear of more g. clavigera during collection, while all the specimens are kept separately. The worms might have hidden inside the host and reappear later on, after the holothurians were collected and kept in tanks. |