This tiny (2-3mm not including the tail) haminoeid was found when expanses of crowded cephalaspidean egg masses thickly covering several square meters were observed on a Kwajalein Atoll lagoon sandy slope at a depth of about 14m on 21 December 2008. Although none of the bubble shells were observed at the time, a small sample of sand collected with a few of the egg masses yielded about a dozen specimens. There must have been literally thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of animals under and among those egg masses. When we returned a week later, we could no longer find the egg masses or the tiny bubbles.
Note the extremely long tail of this species.
The lateral podia could spread out like wings, and the tail would sometimes coil up.
A close examination of blow ups of some of the photos taken of the egg masses revealed the shells that had been invisible to the naked eye.
A close view of the crowded egg masses.
Created 5 January 2009
Updated 6 January 2013