UNDERWATER DÉCOR? … Christmas Tree worms, found in the coral reefs of Saint Martin’s Island, may look like underwater holiday decorations, but are actually tube-building worms! Widely distributed throughout the world’s tropical oceans, they’re known to occur from the Caribbean to the Indo-Pacific and find habitat mostly in corals. The worm’s most distinct features are the two brightly coloured “crowns” shaped like Christmas trees, which are actually specialised mouth appendages. Each spiral crown has feather-like tentacles that help it breathe and trap food – typically microscopic plants or phytoplankton floating in the water – which they consume by filter feeding. As these worms are sedentary, once they find a place they like, they don’t like to budge from there. However, when startled, they rapidly retract into their burrows to avoid potential predators. While there are no conservation activities for the Christmas Tree worms, owing to their vast distribution, water pollution can damage their habitats. PHOTO: SHARIF SARWAR
FLUTTERING WINGS OF JOY… A tailed jay, scientifically known as Graphium Agamemnon, relishes the pink petals of a Nayantara (Madagascar periwinkle) as the flower blooms after an encounter with rain. Adorning its vibrant coffee and green wings, the butterfly slowly climbs up the flora to reach for its centre to taste its nectar. The photo was taken yesterday in Chuknagar of Khulna’s Dumuria upazila. Photo: Habibur Rahman
It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt... Grabbing the bumper of a CNG-run three-wheeler, three boys on roller-skates take to the streets without any safety gear. Though there is a lack of proper recreational spaces for children in Dhaka, such careless actions should be prohibited as they may lead to accidents. This photo was taken in the capital’s Sher-E-Bangla Nagar area yesterday. Photo: Firoz Ahmed
As the white clouds glide over the serene waters of Piyain in Sylhet’s Jaflong, a fisher throws his nets in the river before wrapping up for the day, moments after the sun sets upon blue blemishes. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Sheikh Nasir
