Spirobranchus

Spirobranchus
Spirobranchus giganteus, a popular species in the genus.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Clade: Sedentaria
Order: Sabellida
Family: Serpulidae
Subfamily: Serpulinae
Genus: Spirobranchus
Blainville, 1818
Species

See text

Synonyms

Pomatoceros Philippi, 1844

Spirobranchus is the second largest genus of tube-building annelid fanworms in the family Serpulidae. Members of Spirobranchus are known as Christmas tree worms.

The worms form a calcareous tube which becomes incorporated into their host coral. The prominent features visible externally are a pair of conical spiral radiole bundles ("trees"), and an operculum that closes when they retract into their tube.

The crown of radioles serves for both food-gathering and respiration. "Christmas tree" refers to the tiered, tapered shape, whilst "Spirobranchus" translates to "spiral gill".

Taxonomy and systematics

The type species Spirobranchus giganteus was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766 as Serpula gigantea. In 1818, Henri de Blainville separated "S. gigantea de Linné" into a its own genus named in French as "Spirobranche".

Species

The species in the genus (World Register of Marine Species) include:

References

  1. ↑ Iñiguez, Abril; Starger, Craig; Kupriyanova, Elena; Willette, Demian; Varman, Tristan; Drew, Joshua; Toha, Abdul; Maralit, Benedict; Carpenter, Kent; Barber, Paul (2013-01-01). "Phylogeography of the Christmas Tree worm Spirobranchus corniculatus (Annelida, Serpulidae) from the Coral Triangle, Australia, and Fiji". 2013 International Polychaete Conference: IPC2013: Program and Abstract Handbook: IPC International Polychaete Conference, Sydney 2013: 4-9 August 2013, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. Christmas Tree [Worms] is a common name given to a group of large and colourful serpulid polychaetes of the genus Spirobranchus that are obligate symbionts of hermatypic corals commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions world-wide.
  2. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Spirobranchus Blainville, 1818". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2026-04-11.
  3. ↑ Blainville, Henri Marie Ducrotay de. (1818). Mémoire sur la classe des Sétipodes, partie des Vers à sang rouge de M. Cuvier, et des Annélides de M. de Lamarck. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Société Philomatique de Paris. 1818: 78-85., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4146409 (p. 79).

Bibliography