Biodiversity & Conservation

A tubeworm - Serpula vermicularis

Serpula vermicularis

Image Paul Naylor - A tube worm Serpula vermicularis. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Serpula vermicularis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Serpula vermicularis 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 Linnaeus, 1767
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Distributed mainly around the north-west coast of Scotland. Also present on the north-east coast of England and the north-west coast of Ireland with scattered records around much of the coast of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information The calcareous tubes of Serpula vermicularis can be found attached to hard substrata such as rocks, stones, bivalve shells and ship hull's from low water to the sublittoral in depths up to 250 m. In some very sheltered areas the tubes aggregate together to form small reefs.
Text page icon Description Serpula vermicularis is a slender, tube-dwelling polychaete between 5 and 7 cm in length with about 200 segments. The tubes are cylindrical with occasional rings and irregular lengthwise ridges cut into blunt teeth. The operculum is calcareous and funnel shaped with radial grooves and a serrated circumference. The colour of the body of the worm varies from pale yellow to brick red. The tube is pinkish-white and the operculum is patterned with red and white rays.
Identifying features
  • Head bears crown of pinnate projections called radioles which project from the tube when feeding. Palps are absent.
  • Head with two lobes, each with 30-40 radioles united at the base.
  • Single, funnel like operculum (a plug to close the tube when the crown is withdrawn) about 4mm across with serrated circumference and red and white rays.
  • Crown is red, white, orange or yellow and may be solid coloured or banded.
Additional information icon Additional information The tube is attached to hard substrata at the base but in reef aggregations is often free for much of its length.

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This review can be cited as follows:

Jacqueline Hill 2006. Serpula vermicularis. A tubeworm. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 06/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4340>