Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help
Researched by | Penny Avant | Refereed by | Admin |
Authority | (Renier, 1804) | ||
Other common names | - | Synonyms | - |
The parchment worm Chaetopterus variopedatus is distinctive, large and stout but fragile. It grows up to 25 cm in length and between 1 and 2.5 cm in width. It is yellowish or greenish white in colour with mature females becoming pinkish. The body is divided into three distinct regions, the short anterior end with an inconspicuous head, a mid region with highly specialized feeding structures, and a longer, regularly segmented hind end with repeating appendages. The worms live permanently in tough, flexible tubes of a whitish parchment-like material. The open end is narrow and protrudes slightly from the substratum.
Other species of polychaete may occasionally occupy vacant tubes.
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NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.
OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System), 2023. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2023-03-24
This review can be cited as:
Last Updated: 21/06/2002