Channel Islands, its brightly coloured multispiral crown of tentacles is now a familiar sight in spots such as Plymouth Sound.
Two other attractive worms live in white, chalky tubes. The smooth tubeworm( alternatively called the red spotted horseshoe worm( Protula tubularian) often has dazzling orange tentacles, but they can also be white with red spots. It seems to particularly like living in the boiler tubes of wrecks. The organ pipe worm( Serpula vermicularis) has a distinctive plug to its tube that appears with its tentacles when the animal emerges. This species usually lives alone but its claim to fame is that, in a few locations, it can form beautiful but very fragile reefs. Anyone lucky enough to dive in one of these spots needs to be very careful with their fins!
My personal favourite is the sand mason( Lanice conchilega), whose little tree-like tubes are very abundant on sandy seabeds. Its tentacles are hidden among the branches of the‘ tree’; it’ s not flamboyant like other tubeworms, but I love the way that the skilful use of large sand grains and shell fragments in its tube construction is so clear to see.
While tube-building worms are particularly obvious, many marine worms
Peacock Worms on a Flame Shell reef
lead largely unobtrusive lives.‘ Largely’ is a key word here, because they can still surprise us by( literally) going to pieces for love! Some species of mobile, seabeddwelling worms change into a different form known as an epitoke for the purpose of breeding. In some of these species, it is the whole worm that transforms itself while in others it is the rear part that changes and then breaks away. Epitokes swim up towards the surface with the task of meeting up with others and releasing spawn. They are well suited to their job
UKDIVING
by having enlarged eyes and swimming paddles and, generally, they do not feed and die after spawning. You are most likely to see swarms of these strange beings on a night dive, where they may be attracted to your lights, but I have seen the odd individual( including one releasing its spawn) during the day. �
Paul’ s photos and video clips capturing UK marine life stories are on Instagram @ paulnaylormarinephoto
Out on breeding duty, the free-swimming epitoke of a bottom-living worm
Tubeworms on the boiler of a Devon wreck, both the larger Double Spiral Worms and the brilliant orange Smooth Tubeworm
A Feather Duster Worm among sponges in Plymouth Sound
Sand Mason tube showing its intricate construction
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