Feather duster worm
Sabellastarte spectabilis · The feather duster worm is a marine bristle worm native to tropical Indo-Pacific waters that has spread to other parts of the world.
Also called Feather duster, Fan worm.
,_Anilao,_Filipinas,_2023-08-22,_DD_191.jpg){kind=link}
,_mar_Rojo,_Egipto,_2023-04-18,_DD_72.jpg){kind=link}
,_islas_Ad_Dimaniyat,_Om%C3%A1n,_2024-08-15,_DD_03.jpg){kind=link}
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Annelida |
| Class | Polychaeta |
| Order | Sabellida |
| Family | Sabellidae |
| Genus | Sabellastarte |
| Species | Sabellastarte spectabilis |
Where it lives
Indian Ocean and Red Sea; introduced to Hawaii and elsewhere.
Fun facts
- Its feathery tentacles do double duty: they catch food and also work as gills for breathing.
- Tiny hair-like cilia on the tentacles create water currents that sweep food particles toward the worm's mouth along mucus-filled grooves.
- This worm recycles the bigger bits it filters out, using larger non-food particles to build its tube.
- It can reproduce by breaking into fragments and can regrow body parts after being damaged.
Play it
The Feather duster worm was the creature in a regional daily on November 10, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.
Play today's creature or replay a past daily
Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).