Biodiversity & Conservation

Honeycomb worm - Sabellaria alveolata - General information

Sabellaria alveolata

Image Keith Hiscock - Rock covered entirely with tubes of Sabellaria alveolata. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Sabellaria alveolata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Sabellaria alveolata?
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Sabellaria alveolata is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Angus Jackson Text page icon Refereed by: Prof. S. J. Hawkins

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 In Britain, most abundant on the south and west coasts with isolated records form the south east and east coasts. The northern limit is the Outer Hebrides. It is also found on south, west and north coasts of Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on hard substrata on exposed, open coasts with moderate to considerable water movement where sand is available for tube building. Typically on the bottom third of the shoreline but also in the shallow sub-tidal.
Text page icon Description A frequently gregarious segmented worm that builds tubes from sand or shell fragments. Found intertidally (although occasionally subtidally) in exposed areas. Tubes often densely aggregated forming a honey comb pattern. May form large reefs up to several metres across and a metre deep.

This review can be cited as follows:

Angus Jackson 2008. Sabellaria alveolata. Honeycomb worm. 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=4277>