Biodiversity & Conservation

Ross worm - Sabellaria spinulosa - General information

Sabellaria spinulosa

Image - Sabellaria spinulosa tubes. Image width ca XX cm.
Image copyright information

  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
Distribution map

Sabellaria spinulosa 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 spinulosa?
If so please submit your record.

Sabellaria spinulosa is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Angus Jackson and Dr Keith Hiscock 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 All British and Irish coasts
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found on hard substrata on exposed, open coasts where sand is available for tube building. It is mainly subtidal but may be found in the low intertidal.
Text page icon Description An occasionally gregarious segmented worm that builds tubes from sand or shell fragments. Found subtidally in exposed areas. Does not form reefs over most of its range being found mostly individually but may form thin crusts or large reefs up to several metres across and 60 cm high. Quite similar to Sabellaria alveolata.

This review can be cited as follows:

Angus Jackson and Dr Keith Hiscock 2008. Sabellaria spinulosa. Ross 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=4278>