Polychaeta |
Sabellida |
Serpulidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Sessile. Tropical
Circumglobal in warm seas.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 1.5 cm DL male/unsexed; (Ref. )
Very slender white tubes, 15 mm long and 0.5mm wide. The branchial crown is composed of 8 radioles, 4 on each side. Operculum is absent. 7 to 9 thoracic segment.
A suspension feeder common on hard substrates or overgrowing other fouling invertebrates in sheltered waters like harbors and embayments or also in shallow and deep reef habitats (Ref. 3248).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Polychaeta are mostly gonochoric (sexual). Mating: Females produce a pheromone attracting and signalling the males to shed sperm which in turn stimulates females to shed eggs, this behavior is known as swarming. Gametes are spawned through the metanephridia or body wall rupturing (termed as "epitoky", wherein a pelagic, reproductive individual, "epitoke", is formed from a benthic, nonreproductive individual, "atoke"). After fertilization, most eggs become planktonic; although some are retained in the worm tubes or burrowed in jelly masses attached to the tubes (egg brooders). Life Cycle: Eggs develop into trocophore larva, which later metamorph into juvenile stage (body lengthened), and later develop into adults.
DeFelice, R.C., L.G. Eldredge and J.T. Carlton 2001 Nonindigenous marine invertebrates. p. B-i-B-60. In Eldredge, G.L. and C.M. Smith. A Guidebook of Marine Species in Hawaii. Bishop Museum Technical Report 21. (Ref. 3248)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 9.7 - 21.4, mean 12.4 (based on 297 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
