Biodiversity & Conservation

Sand mason - Lanice conchilega - General information

Lanice conchilega

Image Sue Scott - Lanice conchilega, sand mason worm. Image width ca 8 cm.
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Distribution map

Lanice conchilega recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Lanice conchilega is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Olwen Ager 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 Lanice conchilega is found around all coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Lanice conchilega is found in intertidal and subtidal sediments
Text page icon Description Lanice conchilega is a polychaete worm up to 30 cm in length and yellow, pink and brownish in colour. Its body is divided into between 150 and 300 segments, with 17 segments (chaetigers) in the front region. Lanice conchilega has 3 pairs of bushy gills that are blood red in colour. It makes a tube out of sand grains and shell fragments, which has a characteristic frayed end that protrudes above the sand. Lanice conchilega uses its crown of white tentacles to trap particles of food.

This review can be cited as follows:

Olwen Ager 2008. Lanice conchilega. Sand mason. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 18/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3633>