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[[File:DSAC Sound of Mull Peacock Worm.jpg|thumb|Peacock worm in the [[Sound of Mull]] ]]
[[File:DSAC Sound of Mull Peacock Worm.jpg|thumb|Peacock worm in the [[Sound of Mull]] ]]


'''''Sabella pavonina''''', commonly known as the '''peacock worm''', is a marine [[polychaete]] [[worm]] belonging to the family [[Sabellidae]]. They can be found along the coasts of [[Western Europe]] and the [[Mediterranean]]. It is found in shallow, tidal waters with a bed of mud, sand or gravel. It is sometimes found on rocks or [[shipwreck]]s.
'''''Sabella pavonina''''', commonly known as the '''peacock worm''', is a marine [[polychaete]] [[worm]] belonging to the family [[Sabellidae]]. They can be found along the coasts of [[Western Europe]] and the [[Mediterranean]]. It is found in shallow, tidal waters with a bed of mud, sand or gravel. It is sometimes found on rocks or [[shipwreck]]s.<ref name=Wells1>{{cite journal | last=Wells | first=G. P. | title=On the Behaviour of Sabella | journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences | volume=138 | issue=891 | year=1951 | jstor=82543 | pages=278–299}}</ref>


It is 10-25 centimetres in length. Its body is elongated and divided into 100-600 small [[segment (biology)|segments]]. The head has two fans of feathery [[tentacle]]s arising from fleshy, semi-circular lobes. The body is mostly grey-green while the tentacles are brown, red or purple with darker bands.
It is 10–25 centimetres in length. Its body is elongated and divided into 100–600 small [[segment (biology)|segments]]. The head has two fans of 8–45 feathery [[radiole]]s arising from fleshy, semi-circular lobes. The body is mostly grey-green while the radioles are brown, red or purple with darker bands.<ref name=Fish>{{cite book | last=Fish | first=J. D. | title=A Student’s Guide to the Seashore | publisher=Springer| year=2012 | pages=172–173| isbn=978-94-011-5888-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRHvCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA173}}</ref>


The worm lives inside a smooth tube of fine mud or sand particles held together with [[mucus]]. The tube stands upright with the lower end attached to stones and the upper end protruding from the sea bed. When covered by water, the worm extends its tentacles out of the tube to feed by filtering out small food particles.<ref name="Publishing2011">{{cite book|author=DK Publishing|title=Animal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-r5zSAx8eoC&pg=PA195|date=17 January 2011|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-0-7566-8886-8|page=195}}</ref> At low tide or when disturbed, it withdraws back into the tube.
The worm lives inside a smooth tube of fine mud or sand particles held together with [[mucus]]. The tube stands upright with the lower end attached to stones and the upper end protruding from the sea bed. When covered by water, the worm extends its crown out of the tube to feed, using cilia on the radioles to circulate water through the crown. Small food particles are carried down the radioles to the mouth of the worm, while larger particles are rejected, or cemented with mucus to extend the length of the tube.<ref name=Hayward>{{cite book |last=Hayward |first= Peter J. |title=A Natural History of the Seashore |date=2012 |publisher=Collins |pages=52–53 |url=https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof0000hayw/page/52/}}</ref> The crown is highly sensitive to light and pressure and quickly retracts in reponse to motion shadow.<ref name=Hayward/><ref name=>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Vernon |title=Sessile Animals of the Sea Shore |date=1990 |publisher=Chapman and Hall |page=117 |url=https://archive.org/details/sessileanimalsof0000harr/page/116/}}</ref>

''Sabella pavonina'' and other Sabellid worms experience heavy predation by bottom-feeding fish, but are capable of regenerating even when a large part of the tube and the worm inside have been bitten off.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Berrill | first=N. J. | title=Functional Morphology and Development of Segmental Inversion in Sabellid Polychaetes | journal=Biological Bulletin | volume=153 | issue=3 | year=1977 | jstor=1540600 | pages=453–467, at 463 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1540600}}</ref><ref name=Wells2>{{cite journal | last=Wells | first=G. P. | title=The Respiratory Significance of the Crown in the Polychaete Worms Sabella and Myxicola | journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences | volume=140 | issue=898 | year=1952 | jstor=82713 | pages=70–82, at 75}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
*Barrett, John & Yonge, C. M. (1977) ''Collins Pocket Guide to the Sea Shore'', Collins, London.
*Forey, Pamela & Fitzsimons, Cecilia (1994) ''Letts Pocket Guide to Sea & Seashore Life'', Letts, London.
*Naylor, Paul (2003) ''Great British Marine Animals'', Sound Diving Publications.


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 16:23, 10 December 2023

Peacock worm
Peacock worm (Sabella pavonine) with captured short-snouted seahorse, Porto Cesareo, Italy
Scientific classification
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S. pavonina
Binomial name
Sabella pavonina
Savigny, 1820
Peacock worm in the Sound of Mull

Sabella pavonina, commonly known as the peacock worm, is a marine polychaete worm belonging to the family Sabellidae. They can be found along the coasts of Western Europe and the Mediterranean. It is found in shallow, tidal waters with a bed of mud, sand or gravel. It is sometimes found on rocks or shipwrecks.[1]

It is 10–25 centimetres in length. Its body is elongated and divided into 100–600 small segments. The head has two fans of 8–45 feathery radioles arising from fleshy, semi-circular lobes. The body is mostly grey-green while the radioles are brown, red or purple with darker bands.[2]

The worm lives inside a smooth tube of fine mud or sand particles held together with mucus. The tube stands upright with the lower end attached to stones and the upper end protruding from the sea bed. When covered by water, the worm extends its crown out of the tube to feed, using cilia on the radioles to circulate water through the crown. Small food particles are carried down the radioles to the mouth of the worm, while larger particles are rejected, or cemented with mucus to extend the length of the tube.[3] The crown is highly sensitive to light and pressure and quickly retracts in reponse to motion shadow.[3][4]

Sabella pavonina and other Sabellid worms experience heavy predation by bottom-feeding fish, but are capable of regenerating even when a large part of the tube and the worm inside have been bitten off.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Wells, G. P. (1951). "On the Behaviour of Sabella". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 138 (891): 278–299. JSTOR 82543.
  2. ^ Fish, J. D. (2012). A Student’s Guide to the Seashore. Springer. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-94-011-5888-6.
  3. ^ a b Hayward, Peter J. (2012). A Natural History of the Seashore. Collins. pp. 52–53.
  4. ^ Harris, Vernon (1990). Sessile Animals of the Sea Shore. Chapman and Hall. p. 117.
  5. ^ Berrill, N. J. (1977). "Functional Morphology and Development of Segmental Inversion in Sabellid Polychaetes". Biological Bulletin. 153 (3): 453–467, at 463. JSTOR 1540600.
  6. ^ Wells, G. P. (1952). "The Respiratory Significance of the Crown in the Polychaete Worms Sabella and Myxicola". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 140 (898): 70–82, at 75. JSTOR 82713.