Biodiversity & Conservation

A polychaete - Magelona mirabilis - General information

A polychaete

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Distribution map

Magelona mirabilis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Magelona mirabilis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Will Rayment Text page icon Refereed by: Mike Kendall

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 Expected to occur all around the coasts of Britain and Ireland where suitable substrata occur. Recorded patchily from all British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Magelona mirabilis typically burrows in fine sand at low water and in the shallow sublittoral. It does not produce a tube. Magelona mirabilis is adapted for life in highly unstable sediments, characterized by surf, strong currents and sediment mobility.
Text page icon Description A long, threadlike worm divided into 2 distinct sections by an intervening segment different from the others. The body is square in section, about 2.5 mm wide and between 50 and 170 mm long although it is often much smaller in length. The head end bears a pair of long, thick palps and a prostomium flattened like a duck's bill and often wider than the rest of the body. However, the wider segment (chaetiger 8 or 9) is often hard to distinguish, even with the aid of a microscope (M. Kendall, pers. comm.). The palps are deciduous and it is unusual to find specimens where they are present (M. Kendall, pers. comm.). The palps are often cropped by fish. The palps and front portion of the body are a very soft pink, while the rear portion is greenish grey with white blotches.

This review can be cited as follows:

Will Rayment 2007. Magelona mirabilis. A polychaete. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3759>