On Wednesday, the group working on the Polychaeta (bristle worms) went to the city for a practical demonstation of one of the tools we are fortunate enough to have available here in Bergen; the ZEISS Supra 55VP scanning electron microscope at the Laboratory for Electron Microscopy.

The use of SEM gives us a unique possibility to examine details that are too small to be seen (or at least to be seen clearly) in a light microscope. It is possible to take high resolution photographs through the SEM, which can be used both for personal reference, and as illustrations in scientific publications.

The anterior region of a Hyalinoecia sp. (family Onuphidae)

The different kinds of bristles and their distribution along the animal’s body are important characteristics in polychaete taxonomy.