Aphrodita aculeata

The name of the genus is taken from Aphrodite, the Ancient Greek goddess of love, said to be because of the worm's supposed resemblance to human female genitalia.{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Jennifer |date=1 October 2019 |title=Profile of the Sea Mouse Ocean Worm |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/sea-mouse-profile-2291398 |access-date=29 September 2021 |website=ThoughtCo}} The English name may derive from the resemblance to a bedraggled house mouse when washed up on shore.{{cite book | title=Ocean: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed | publisher=DK Publishing | year=2006 | location=New York City | isbn=978-0-7566-2205-3 | edition=first American | page=276 | chapter=Ocean Life | editor1-last=Warren | editor1-first=Rebecca | editor2-last=van Zyl | editor2-first=Miezan | editor3-last=O'Rourke | editor3-first=Ruth | editor4-last=Tokeley | editor4-first=Amber | editor5-last=Heilman | editor5-first=Christine}} The specific name aculeata is the Latin for spiny.

The body of the sea mouse is covered in a dense mat of setae (hairlike structures). Adults generally fall within a size range of {{convert|10|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on}}.

{{further|Structural coloration}}

The spines, or setae,{{cite encyclopedia | title=sea mouse | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | accessdate=April 26, 2012 | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/530649/sea-mouse}} on the scaled back of the sea mouse are some of its unique features. Normally, these have a deep red sheen, warning off predators, but when light shines on them perpendicularly, they flash green and blue, a "remarkable example of photonic engineering by a living organism". This structural coloration is a defense mechanism, giving a warning signal to potential predators. The effect is produced by many hexagonal cylinders within the spines, which "perform much more efficiently than man-made optical fibres".{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1099278.stm | title=Sea mouse promises bright future | publisher=BBC | work=BBC News | date=January 3, 2001 | accessdate=April 26, 2012}}

The sea mouse is an active predator feeding primarily on small hermit and other crabs, and other polychaete worms, including Pectinaria and Lumbriconereis. It has been observed consuming other polychaete worms over three times its own body length. Feeding activity takes place at night, with the animal is partially buried in sand.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2564 MarLIN: Sea mouse]
• [http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic/browse.php?sp=4405 BIOTIC Species Information for Aphrodita aculeata]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1569834}}

Category:Phyllodocida

Category:Animals described in 1758