Polychaeta |
Sabellida |
Siboglinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Sessile; depth range 2564 - 2673 m (Ref. 7675). Tropical
Eastern Central Pacific.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 99941); max. published weight: 650.00 g (Ref. 99323)
Depth range based on a locality (Ref. 7675); to be replaced with a better reference. The tube length and diameter can measure up to 3 m and 5 m, respectively; but the length of the worm in the 3 m tube is only 1 m (Ref. 99323). Abyssal (Ref. 19). It lacks a functional digestive system and derives its nutrition from vent plumes through an endosymbiotic relationship with chemoautotrophic bacteria stored in a specialized organ called a trophosome (Ref. 99323).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Spawning is intermittent, not continuous and lasts an hour; release of gametes are propelled upward by withdrawal of the worm into its tube. Neutrally buoyant sperm bundles are expelled forcefully enough to be dispersed over a field of tubeworms; the sperm bundles swim and attach to females, somehow mediating a spawning response in the female; fertilization occurs internally immediately before spawning or externally (within the vestimental chamber?) just after release of the eggs; accumulated eggs are forcefully ejected into the water column where, negatively buoyant, they spend a short period near the site of release; advective conditions of the turbulent, warm-water vent environment disperse gametes and developing larvae away from the adult population.
Andersen, A.C., S. Hourdez, B. Marie, D. Jollivet, F.H. Lallier and M. Sibuet 2004 Escarpia southwardae sp. nov., a new species of vestimeniferan tubeworm (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from West African cold seeps. Can. J. Zool. 82:980-999. (Ref. 7667)
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 dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionAbundance Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 1.7 - 2.1, mean 1.8 (based on 76 cells).
Fishing Vulnerability
Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category
Unknown.
