Biodiversity & Conservation

A bristleworm - Scoloplos (Scoloplos) armiger

Scoloplos armiger

Image Dr Inken Kruse - Specimen of Scoloplos armiger. Image width ca 3 cm.
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Distribution map

Scoloplos (Scoloplos) armiger recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Scoloplos (Scoloplos) armiger 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 (O F Müller, 1776)
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Widely distributed around Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Occurs on the low shore and shallow sublittoral in fine, muddy sand, often amongst seagrasses. May be found in the lower reaches of estuaries.
Text page icon Description Scoloplos armiger reaches lengths of 12 cm with 200 or more body segments. The front region of the body is swollen and sharply pointed, giving the head a cone-shaped appearance. The eyes are not easily detectable. Gills occur dorsally from segments 9 to 17 onwards and the tip of the posterior has 2 long cirri. Scoloplos armiger is red or reddish brown in colour, and has prominent red blood vessels running down the length of the body.
Identifying features
  • Red to bright orange-pink in colour.
  • Sharply pointed, cone-shaped head.
  • Up to 12 cm in length with 200 or more body segments.
  • The posterior has 2 long cirri.
  • Prominent red blood vessels.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Susie Ballerstedt 2005. Scoloplos (Scoloplos) armiger. A bristleworm. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 11/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4307>