Neosabellaria cementarium
Neosabellaria cementarium | |
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Image of Neosabellaria cementarium | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Clade: | Sedentaria |
Family: | Sabellariidae |
Genus: | Neosabellaria |
Species: | N. cementarium
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Binomial name | |
Neosabellaria cementarium (Moore, 1906) [1]
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Neosabellaria cementarium is a species of marine tube worm in the family Sabellariidae, perhaps better known by its previous name, Sabellaria cementarium. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Description
Neosabellaria cementarium lives in a tube which it creates by cementing together grains of sand. This is attached along its length to a rock, shell or other hard substrate. At first it is short but it is widened and extended as the worm grows, sometimes reaching a length of more than 7 centimetres (2.8 in) [2] and a diameter of 4 millimetres (0.16 in). The worm is largely hidden within the tube but it has a yellow or golden-coloured operculum and a number of fine tentacles which it extends in order to feed.[3] Sometimes the tubes are solitary and sometimes they are grouped together but this species does not form reefs.[3]
In California, Neosabellaria cementarium can be confused with the
Distribution
Neosabellaria cementarium is found in a range extending from Alaska to southern California.
Biology
Neosabellaria cementarium has
In Puget Sound, Washington, aggregations of up to 3,500 tubes of Neosabellaria cementarium per square metre at depths of between 15 and 40 metres (49 and 131 ft) were found to provide a habitat to a diverse range of other organisms not found in adjacent areas.[5]
Neosabellaria cementarium is one of a number of fouling organisms that live as epibionts on the shells of scallops such as Chlamys hastata and Chlamys rubida.[2]
References
- ^ a b Fauchald, Kristian (2010). "Neosabellaria cementarium (Moore, 1906)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- ^ JSTOR 3515149.
- ^ a b c James Watanabe. "Polychaeta: Sabellaria cementarium". SeaNet: Common Marine Organisms of Monterey Bay, California. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- ^ Maslakova, Svetlana (2010-05-25). "Invertebrate embryology: Sabellaria cementarium larvae". Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- doi:10.1139/z94-069.