Opal worm
| Opal worm | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opal worm ( Nephtys hombergii ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Nephtys hombergii | ||||||||||||
| Savigny , 1818 |
The opal worm ( Nephtys hombergii ) belongs to the multi-bristled ring worms (Polychaeta). It lives on the sandy bottoms of the European seas.
features
The body of the opal worm is elongated and square in cross section. The worm consists of approx. 200 segments, each with a pair of bristled stubby feet. The small head of the opal worm, which can grow up to 20 cm, has no antennae. A long tail thread grows at the rear end. Its color is usually pink to flesh-colored and shimmering like a mother-of-pearl. Opal worms are very agile, their mouthparts can be extended and retracted quickly and they dig in with lightning speed.
Occurrence
The opal worm is native to the north-east Atlantic , the North Sea , the Baltic Sea , the Mediterranean and the Black Sea . It occurs in sandy and fine sand soils and lives from the intertidal zone to greater depths on the continental shoulders. It is a fast, predatory ringworm.
food
The opal worm mainly hunts other polychaetes, with the two detritus eaters Scoloplos armed and Heteromastus filiformis in the Wadden Sea around Sylt being the main food, but predatory polychaetes are also eaten. Other prey animals include amphipods ( Corophium arenarium ), cordworms , small mussels and foraminifera . Young opal worms also eat nematodes . The opal worm is classified as an important meso-predator in the food chain .
Way of life
In the tidal areas the opal worms are very sensitive to cold. After severe winters, they cannot occur for a few years. Regarding the way of life, it should be noted that opal worms do not build solid tubes, but dig their way through the ground at a depth of about 5–20 cm. Opal worms are sensitive to contamination with oil or oil-containing drilling mud.
Web links
- Nephtys hombergii Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 at WoRMS
- Nephtys hombergii Marine Species Identification Portal (accessed March 16, 2010)
Individual evidence
- ^ Andreas Schubert, Karsten Reise (1986): Predatory effects of Nephtys hombergii on other polychaetes in tidal flat sediments. Marine Ecology Progress Series 34, pp. 117-124.