Biodiversity & Conservation

A bristleworm - Cirratulus cirratus - General information

Cirratulus cirratus

Image Teresa Darbyshire - Cirratulus spp.
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Distribution map

Cirratulus cirratus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Cirratulus cirratus is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Ken Neal and Susie Ballerstedt Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Annelida Segmented worms e.g. ragworms, tubeworms & fanworms
Class Polychaeta Bristleworms, e.g. ragworms, scaleworms, paddleworms, fanworms and tubeworms
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found in suitable habitats all round the coast of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Occurs on the lower shore in mud or muddy sand beneath or between rocks.
Text page icon Description Cirratulus cirratus has a long, slender, orange, pinkish or brownish-red body, with 75 to 130 segments, and can reach 12 cm in length. The head is a blunt cone with a row of 4 to 8 large black eyes either side that may meet on top of the head. There are two groups of up to 8 feeding tentacles on the first segment. Pairs of long slender gills arise at intervals from the whole length of the body and these appear as a mass of reddish threads when the worm is buried.

This review can be cited as follows:

Ken Neal and Susie Ballerstedt 2006. Cirratulus cirratus. A bristleworm. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 21/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2996>