Christmas Tree Worm Lifespan

Consequently their life span is much shorter in regions of poor water quality or distressed or disappearing coral habitats.

Christmas tree worm lifespan. Fun facts about christmas tree worms. Depending on the water and reef conditions they can live up to 40 years. Christmas tree worms have eyes in a really silly place says michael bok.

They aren t very big averaging about 1 5 inches in length. But that he adds is just part of their charm. Christmas tree worms spirobranchus giganteus are found on coral reefs in tropical waters worldwide.

Feeding behavior ecology christmas tree worms spirobranchus giganteus are polychaete ciliary feeders that feed using their radioles the hair like appendages or feathers that circle outward from the central spine to catch phytoplankton floating by in the water. Christmas tree worms come in a variety of bright colors. Christmas tree worms fir tree like appendages are also used for respiration collecting oxygen from the currents.

Christmas tree worms can disappear in milliseconds they sense movement in the water and can retract when feeling threatened. They are popular for aquariums though their lifespan in an artificial environment is much shorter. These gametes are created within the worm s abdominal segments.

The lifespan of a christmas tree worm varies greatly. If this sounds like a lengthy process biologists have counted the coral layers around them like the rings of a tree to estimate that christmas tree worms can live as long as 30 years sources vary from 20 to 40 years. A wildly colored pair of tapering feathery spires they stick up from the top of the worm s buried retreat like the ornamental trees.

Spirobranchus giganteus commonly known as the christmas tree worm is a tube building polychaete worm belonging to the family serpulidae anatomy and morphology. You won t find spirobranchus giganteus also known as the christmas. In coralline areas with optimum environmental conditions their life expectancy is in excess of 30 years.