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Story: Marine animals without backbones

Marine roundworm

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Marine roundworm

In this magnified image of a roundworm from Papanui Inlet, Otago, the head and throat are clearly visible. The entire animal is only 4 millimetres long. It belongs to a group of free-living nematodes, which feed on bacteria and microscopic algae.

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Private collection

by Daniel Leduc

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How to cite this page

Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, Marine animals without backbones – Simple worms, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6978/marine-roundworm (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, published 2 March 2009.