Dr. Maria McGuinness, Irland
Info
The North Atlantic white horseshoe worm is particularly abundant in muddy sandy estuaries and nearshore areas polluted with organic contaminants (an abundance of detritus and suspended sediments), it is also found in seagrass beds with Zostera marina Linnaeus 1753 (new Zostera subg. Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1753) in shell beds of the genus Macoma, and in association with Amphiura brittle stars.
In its preferred habitats, here Norway, up to 150 worms per square meter were counted.
The first photo of the tubeworm, which can grow up to 12cm long, shows a free-swimming larva that will later settle on a suitable substrate.
The horseshoe worm Phoronis muelleri is elongated and worm-shaped, its mouth surrounded by a namesake horseshoe-shaped array of tentacles known as a lophophore.
The body is pinkish and the lophophore is translucent, sometimes spotted.
Phoronis muelleri occurs in either a boring or incrusting form and may form a cylindrical, skin-like tube in which the worm then lives permanently.
Our sincere thanks for the photo of Phoronis mueller go to Dr. Maria McGuinness of University College Cork in Ireland.
Synonyms:
Actinotrocha branchiata Müller, 1846 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Actinotrocha brownei Selys-Longchamps, 1907 · unaccepted
Actinotrocha metschnikowi Roule, 1900 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Actinotrocha muelleri Roule, 1900 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Phoronis norvegica Dalla Torre, 1889 · unaccepted
In its preferred habitats, here Norway, up to 150 worms per square meter were counted.
The first photo of the tubeworm, which can grow up to 12cm long, shows a free-swimming larva that will later settle on a suitable substrate.
The horseshoe worm Phoronis muelleri is elongated and worm-shaped, its mouth surrounded by a namesake horseshoe-shaped array of tentacles known as a lophophore.
The body is pinkish and the lophophore is translucent, sometimes spotted.
Phoronis muelleri occurs in either a boring or incrusting form and may form a cylindrical, skin-like tube in which the worm then lives permanently.
Our sincere thanks for the photo of Phoronis mueller go to Dr. Maria McGuinness of University College Cork in Ireland.
Synonyms:
Actinotrocha branchiata Müller, 1846 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Actinotrocha brownei Selys-Longchamps, 1907 · unaccepted
Actinotrocha metschnikowi Roule, 1900 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Actinotrocha muelleri Roule, 1900 · unaccepted (Larval stadium)
Phoronis norvegica Dalla Torre, 1889 · unaccepted
