Lynne Tuck (
@scubalynne) recently made a very cool observation. She watched a flatworm slide over a Bigbelly Seahorse. When she first noticed the flatworm it was on the seahorse's 'shoulder'. While she watched it moved across the seahorse's head, at one stage covering both of its eyes, then along the snout and finally onto the belly. The seahorse tried to dislodge the flatworm a number of times. To view photos of the flatfish's journey, click on the left image above.
I asked flatworm expert
Jorge Rodriguez if it was possible to identify the flatworm. He stated, "The flatworm in this picture is most likely
Thysanozoon brocchii. It was probably crawling on the rocks and continued moving on top of the seahorse as if it were part of the substrate. You can discover more about this species in the paper (pages 50 to 51 and plate 21) I published last year about southeastern Australian marine flatworms:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AFiy9JeZlZIOVI68dmrHTyilgGsFCDgT/view?usp=sharing"
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Amazing find, what dedication.
I thought it was very cool. The video that @scubalynne took is a bonus.
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