worms
Bristle worm
Scientific name: Nephtyidae sp.
Family: Amphinomidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: 3 centimeters
Depth range: Intertidal to 960 meters
Description: Grey or white in color with a visibly segmented body and many legs.
Habitat and behavior: Lives in muddy sand, can also be found in gravel, rocks and eel grass beds
calcereous tube worm
Scientific name: Serpula columbiana
Family: Serpulidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: The tube can reach 10 centimeters long and are typically 1 centimeter wide
Depth range: 110 meters
Description: They live in a white tube that they build themselves. Their tentacles are red, pinkish, and orange.
Habitat and behavior: They live from California to Alaska. They will live on rocks, pilings and floats.
feather duster worm
Scientific name: Eudistyla vancouveri
Family: Sabellidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: Calcareous tube can be up to 45 centimeters long
Depth range: Usually found in intertidal can be up to 450 meters deep
Description: The feather duster worm can be identified by its brightly colored tentacles that are usually gold or maroon with white tips, or completely white
Habitat and behavior: This worm can be found upon pilings at relatively shallow depths. It uses its tentacles to filter out plankton in the water column, and when threatened it will retract its tentacles into the calcareous tube.
northern feather duster worm
Scientific name: Eudistylia vancouveri
Family: Sabellidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: Tubes up to 60 centimeters long, 1 centimeter in diameter; worm up to 25 centimeters long, tentacles expand to 5.1 centimeters in diameter
Depth range: Intertidal to 20 m
Description: Organism lives in long grey tubes. When expanded, tentacles are present as green and purple in color.
Habitat and behavior: Found in large clusters. Reside on rocky reefs, floats and pilings. The worms’ tentacles expand to draw in food and oxygen from the water. Hairy snails and anemones often feed on top of the tubes.
slime tube worm
Scientific name: Myxicola infundibulum
Family: Sabellidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: Up to 20 centimeters long
Depth range: Intertidal to 30 meters
Description: Their bodies are typically orange or dark yellow in color. The top is surrounded in purple or brown tentacles that create a funnel. The rest of their body is thick gelatinous and transparent tube that remains buried in sediments.
Habitat and behavior: They tend to live on rocks but can be seen nestled in sand or free floating. They prefer to live in areas that are sheltered from waves and strong currents. They can also survive in most levels of salinity.
spaghetti worm
Scientific name: Eupolymnia crasscornis
Family: Terebellidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: The tube is 12 to 15 centimeters long and about 2 centimeters thick. Tentacles can spread out to 90 centimeters.
Depth range: 50 meters
Description: A segmented worm with a long, cylindrical body that is divided into many smaller segments. The tentacles are white or transparent.
Habitat and behavior: The spaghetti worm hides its body inside crevices and stretches out its long tentacles. Tube bodies often remain unseen as only the tentacles stick out in the open, appearing like a pile of spaghetti. The worm constructs its tube from sand and gravel that are stuck together with a mucus-like substance.
Split branch feather duster worm
Scientific name: Schiziobranchia insignis
Family: Sabellidae
Phylum: Annelida
Typical size: 10 to 20 centimeters tall and 5 to10 millimeters in diameter
Depth range: Intertidal to 46 meters
Description: They live inside of the flexible, leather-like tube they create. The body of the males is pink and the body of the females is green. Their top features a crown of feather-like tentacles that are either green, red, orange, tan, gray, or brown. The feathers are split at the end, giving the worm its name.
Habitat and behavior: They are most often found in Alaska and the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean. They live attached to rocks and various pilings. The Split Branch Feather Duster is a filter feeder that primarily eats plankton, phytoplankton, and zooplankton.