Triangular tube worm
| Triangular tube worm | ||||||||||||
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Lime tubes of Pomatoceros triqueter on a rock, Pembrokeshire. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pomatoceros triqueter | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The triangular tube worm ( Pomatoceros triqueter ) is a marine annelid from the family of Serpulidae within the class of polychaete (Polychaeta), in particular in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean is widespread.
features
Pomatoceros triqueter has a slim, cylindrical, yellowish-greenish, red or brown body with around 100 segments , 7 of which form the thorax, and a white-blue-yellow-red or brown-striped tentacle crown 18 to 20 pairs of main tentacles connected by a high membrane. There are no eyes on the peristomium .
The high collar is incised laterally with smooth, curved edges. The thoracic membrane is wide. The first two bristle-bearing segments have capillary-shaped bristles that disappear in older animals. The remaining bristle-bearing segments of the thorax have winged capillary-shaped bristles. The hook-shaped bristles of the thorax are triangular with 6 to 10 strong teeth in a row, in which the lowest, tongue-shaped tooth has an incision at the top. The abdomen has sickle-like bristles with a long tip and small teeth on the concave side. The hook-shaped bristles of the abdomen have the same shape as those of the thorax. The pygidium has two small round lobes.
Residential tube
The approximately 4 cm long and 3 mm wide, white living tube of Pomatoceros triqueter has a clear central keel and always only a single central rib.
The living tube is closed with a flat, plate-shaped operculum with an often cone-shaped distal part on which there can be extensions and in which the smooth pedunculus is inserted laterally.
distribution and habitat
Pomatoceros triqueter is widespread in the Arctic , the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean , the Mediterranean , Adriatic Sea , Black Sea , Red Sea , the English Channel , the entire North Sea , in the Skagerrak , Kattegat , the Great and Little Belt , the Oresund and the Bay of Kiel .
Pomatoceros triqueter lives on solid substrates such as rocks, preferably below the intertidal zone.
Development cycle
When mating in summer, the females of Pomatoceros triqueter release their eggs into the open sea, where they are fertilized by the male's sperm. The larvae live free swimming as zooplankton for around two to three weeks before they sink down, form a small, translucent tube made of slime and lime and metamorphose into small bristle worms . The tube becomes harder as calcium carbonate is deposited by the animal's collar, and the growth of the living tubes is about 1.5 mm per month. The periods of growth and rest alternate, which leads to the formation of growth strips on the tube.
nutrition
Pomatoceros triqueter is a filter feeder that creates a stream of water in its tube by moving its cilia and catches food particles ( phytoplankton and detritus ) with its tentacles. The cilia that sit on these transport the particles to the mouth.
literature
- Gesa Hartmann-Schröder (1996): Annelida, Borstenwürmer, Polychaeta. Tierwelt Deutschlands 58, pp. 1–648, here p. 529, Pomatoceros . ISBN 978-3-925919-44-2
- Jean Hanson (1949). Observations on the Branchial Crown of the Serpulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) . Journal of Cell Science. 1949 p3-90: pp. 221-233. Retrieved May 10, 2020
- F. Segrove (1941): The development of the serpulid Pomatoceros triqueter. Quarterly Journal of Cell Science 1941 pp 2-82: pp 467-540. Retrieved May 10, 2020
- RH Hedley (1958): Tube formation by Pomatoceros triqueter (Polychaeta). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 37, pp. 315-322. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
Web links
- MJ de Kluijver et al .: Pomatoceros triqueter Linnaeus, 1758. Macrobenthos of the North Sea - Polychaeta, Marine Species Identification Portal
- JM Hill: Spirobranchus triqueter Linnaeus, 1758. In: H. Tyler-Walters, K. Hiscock (Eds.): Marine Life Information Network, Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Plymouth 2006.