Palolo worms live by the billions in tunnels at bottom of the warm waters of the Pacific. At one specific moment of the year, the males and females of a particular species simultaneously detach the rear portions of their bodies, which contain the spermatozoa and ova. These detached segments then swim toward the surface, attracted by the light of the moon. In the early dawn, this swarming mass several centimeters thick becomes a soup made up of thousands of reproductive cells.

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Caption: Palolo worms live by the billions in tunnels at bottom of the warm waters of the Pacific. At one specific moment of the year, the males and females of a particular species simultaneously detach the rear portions of their bodies, which contain the spermatozoa and ova. These detached segments then swim toward the surface, attracted by the light of the moon. In the early dawn, this swarming mass several centimeters thick becomes a soup made up of thousands of reproductive cells.

Credit: Album / Universal Images Group

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Image size: 3600 × 1800 px | 18.5 MB

Print size: 30.5 × 15.2 cm | 1417.3 × 708.7 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: 52585 • ANIMAL KINGDOM • ANIMAL • ANIMALS • COLOR • COLOUR • FLUSH • ILLUSTRATION • ILLUSTRATIONS • ILUSTRATION • PALOLO • PRIMITIVE ANIMAL