Biodiversity & Conservation

A bristleworm - Ampharete falcata

A bristleworm

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Distribution map

Ampharete falcata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Ampharete falcata is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Annelida Segmented worms e.g. ragworms, tubeworms & fanworms
Class Polychaeta Bristleworms, e.g. ragworms, scaleworms, paddleworms, fanworms and tubeworms
Authority Eliason, 1955
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Recorded from Orkney, North Sea, Southampton Water, Isles of Scilly, Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea and the west coast of Scotland. Also recorded on the north east coast of Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Lives mainly in soft sand at depths of between 30-90 m. Can live in fragile tubes of sand or mud attached to solid objects or lying across the sea bed.
Text page icon Description A small polychaete worm up to 18 mm in length and usually yellowish or white in colour. The body is divided into two regions, a thoracic and abdominal region along with a prominent head. The anterior end is broad, short, flattened and made up of 14 segments. The posterior is thinner and made up of 12 segments. Each body segment has a lobed shaped body extension on each side called a parapod, used for locomotion. There are no bristles (chaetae) on the parapoda at the posterior end. There are projections of the body wall called branchiae separated into two groups in segments 2-5 of the anterior end. There are four branchiae in each group. The palps, a crown of tentacles from the mouth are used in feeding. There are 6-8 short, stout bristle type structures called paleae, with pointed tips on each side of the anterior end. The paleae may be covered by the branchiae. The last segment of the body has one pair of long, and a number of round, filamentous appendages.
Identifying features
  • Usually yellowish or white in colour.
  • Up to 18 mm long.
  • Body divided into two regions, a thoracic and abdominal region along with a prominent head.
  • Two simple eyespots.
  • Lobed head with tentacles that can be retracted into mouth.
Additional information icon Additional information Feeds by extending its tentacles across the sediment surface. Mucus secreted by the tentacles traps food which is then carried back to the mouth. Branchiae are used for gas exchange.

This review can be cited as follows:

Tracy Heath 2005. Ampharete falcata. A bristleworm. 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/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2488>