Biodiversity & Conservation

A tubeworm - Pomatoceros triqueter - General information

Pomatoceros triqueter

Image Steve Trewhella - Calcareous tubes of keel worms (Pomatoceros species). Image width ca 5 cm.
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Distribution map

Pomatoceros triqueter 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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Pomatoceros triqueter is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Karen Riley 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 Common and widespread on all coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Pomatoceros triqueter encrusts stones, rocks and shells, and the carapace of some species of decapods. They are predominantly sublittoral to depths of 70 m.
Text page icon Description The calcareous tube of Pomatoceros triqueter is 3.5 mm wide and up to 25 mm long. It is white, smooth and irregularly curved with a single, median ridge that ends in a projection over the anterior opening. The operculum bears a shallow, dish-shaped plug (ampulla) which is often conical distally, and may have projections on the crown. The colouration of the body is bright but variable, and the crown of tentacles (radioles) are banded with various colours.

This review can be cited as follows:

Karen Riley and Susie Ballerstedt 2005. Pomatoceros triqueter. A tubeworm. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 23/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4179>