The epitoky of the polychaete worms

Epitoky is the process of the transformation of marine polychaete worms into a specific stage of a lifecycle ready for reproduction. In many worms, the epitoky proceeds via schizogamy, where atoke (the main worm) produces new “worm buds“ with eyes and brains at the end of the body and carrying gametes (shown in this video). These “worm buds“ called epitoke separate from the main worm and travel to the dangers of the surface to release gametes and to continue the life of the species. Videography by Igor Adameyko Music by Scott Holmes Music (downloaded for non-commercial use from FMA) Licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)