One day in South Africa, Lily and I walked across Noordhoek Beach…
Along the way, I noticed these little squiggles of sand: folded tube shapes.
I decided I should photograph a few to share with Tony Martin, since he’s into trace fossils along coastal areas.
Anyone have any idea what made these diminutive sculptures of sand?
Are ther lugworms or relatives (Polychaeta s.l.) to be found in Soth Africa – it´s almost sure that these quiggley are pressed out from the underground (especially the second photo seems so)
On northern tidal zones these are common feaures http://tinyurl.com/7xsxyr5
Looks like a fecal casting from an acorn worm (hemichordate). These are small, so could be from a small species. Ones on the Georgia coast get large enough that they look like soft-serve ice cream, although nowhere near as tasty.
my guess is small crabs buried in the sand, filtering the sand/water for microscopic food particles…