Annelida · segmented worms
Christmas tree worm
Spirobranchus giganteus
Serpulidae · feather-duster tube wormsIUCN: Not evaluated
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A tube worm with two colorful spiral plumes, embedded in living coral.
Fun factIt snaps back into its tube in a fraction of a second when a shadow passes.
- Waters
- Tropical Atlantic & Caribbean, Indo-Pacific
- Depth zone
- Coral reefs
- Diet
- Plankton (filter feeder)
- Size
- Crowns about 4 cm
Classification
Annelida › Serpulidae
- Kingdom Animalia animals
- Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
- Cells have no cell walls
- Most can move at some stage of life
- Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
- Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
- Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
- Includes about 99% of all living animal species
- Clade Protostomia protostomes
- In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
- Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
- Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
- Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
- Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
- Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
- Includes mollusks and segmented worms
- Phylum Annelida segmented worms
- Segmented worms: body divided into repeated ring-like segments
- Bristles (chaetae) help many grip and move
- Includes bristle worms, earthworms, and leeches
- Clade Sedentaria tube-dwelling worms
- Tube-dwelling and burrowing worms
- Often have a crown of feeding tentacles or reduced side flaps
- Family Serpulidae feather-duster tube worms
- Feather-duster worms that build hard limestone tubes
- Plug their tube with a lid (operculum) when they withdraw
- Genus Spirobranchus
- Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
- Species Spirobranchus giganteus Christmas tree worm