Phyllochaetopterus prolifica
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| Phyllochaetopterus prolifica | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Clade: | Sedentaria |
| Order: | Spionida |
| Family: | Chaetopteridae |
| Genus: | Phyllochaetopterus |
| Species: | P. prolifica |
| Binomial name | |
| Phyllochaetopterus prolifica Potts, 1914[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Phyllochaetopterus prolifica is a species of marine polychaete worms that live in a tube that it constructs. It is native to shallow waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean and forms colonies of tubes on rocks and submerged objects.
Worms in the family Chaetopteridae have soft bodies and occupy permanent chitinous or parchment-like tubes that they create. P. prolifica is a colonial species which forms dense collections of tubes, many of which are branched.[2] Clusters of these tubes may be 30 cm (12 in) high.[3] At the anterior end of the worm is the prostomium which bears a pair of eyes and a pair of long palps but no antennae. The peristomium (area surrounding the mouth) has a pair of short tentacles. Below this, the segmented body is divided into three regions which differ in the arrangement of the parapodia (lateral lobes). On the first segment of the anterior region of the body is a pair of tentacular cirri and a pair of palps. The middle region consists of four to twelve segments and the posterior region consists of many short segments.[4]