Nov. 27, 2013 — Brooding is a usual behavior in animals. However, to observe it in a marine worm is exceptional and, more surprisingly, it guards eggs from external threats. The scientific finding, published recently in the journal Polar Biology, was developed by researchers Conxita Àvila and Sergio Taboada, from the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and members of the Institute of Research in Biodiversity (IRBio); Juan Junoy, from the University of Alcalá; Javier Cristobo, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, and Gonzalo Giribet and Sónia Andrade, from the Harvard Univesity, among other experts.
Nemerteans are a group of invertebrates mainly found in marine waters. The research group led by Professor Àvila, who coordinates the project Actiquim developed in Antarctica, discovered a new species of nemerteans,Antarctonemertes riesgoae, which has a reproductive strategy unique in this group: it broods like hens.
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