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Pectinaria sp. (Ice cream cone worm)
Copyright ©
2005 Mary Jo Adams
This
polychaete worm builds itself a unique residence made up of sand
and tapered into the shape of a cone. The tube is just one
sand grain thick with the individual sand grains butted up against
each other as if they had been neatly positioned by a stonemason.
Pectinaria is found in areas of muddy sand with
boulders or cobbles. It is normally positioned with the narrow
end pointing up. The wider end contains comb-like structures
that rake through the sand as other specialized feeding tentacles
pick out nourishing bits of detritus. The tube of Pectinaria
can be up to 3 inches long. It is also commonly referred
to as a tusk worm.
This page was created by Mary Jo Adams on 12/6/05.
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