Biodiversity & Conservation

A polychaete - Scalibregma inflatum

Scalibregma inflatum

Image Hilmar Hinz - Scalibregma inflatum in a laboratory. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Scalibregma inflatum 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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Scalibregma inflatum 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 Rathke, 1843
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Widespread around the UK, few records for Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found around low water mark and in the shallow sublittoral, buried deep in sand or mud.
Text page icon Description A segmented worm with between 30 and 60 subdivided segments and a small head with two anterior lateral projections forming a T shape. The body is 5-10 cm long and wrinkled in appearance. Scalibregma inflatum is swollen anteriorly and then becomes slender towards the rear. Purplish red with yellow blotches it has four pairs of branching gills present on the second to fifth segments.
Identifying features
  • Body 5-10 cm long.
  • Swollen at the front, becoming slender towards the rear.
  • The head has two anterior lateral projections forming a T shape.
  • Four pairs of branching gills present on the second to fifth segments.
  • From about segment 16, finger-like dorsal and ventral cirri present.
  • The posterior end bears four or five thread-like cirri.
  • Purplish red with yellow blotches.
Additional information icon Additional information Scalibregmatidae (sometimes called maggot worms) are not routinely encountered, although they can occur in huge numbers in shallow waters in northern Europe. More often, they occur in muddy sediments at more than 1000 m depth. They are active burrowers and feed on detritus in sediment and never form tubes.

This review can be cited as follows:

Emma Snowden 2008. Scalibregma inflatum. A polychaete. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 25/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4299>