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Phylum Annelida:  Segmented Worms

 Protozoans  Sponges  Cnidarians  Ctenophores Arthropods  Echinoderms  Mollusks  Nematodes  Flatworms  Annelid Worms

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The Annelid Worm family contains a surprising number of very un-wormlike creatures.   The word worm normally calls to mind something like the big lumbricus earthworm below.  There are surprises even here - check out the odd striped specimen in the photo below.  But members of this phylum exhibit a variety of shapes and delicate beauty as evidenced by the Giant Feather Duster and the Red Tube Worm. 

The familiar Nightcrawler, (Lumbricus terrestris).  Probably our most familiar annelid, these tireless soil tillers are immensely useful recyclers of waste and aerators of gardens.  The handsome specimen above clearly displays the segmented body of the annelids.  Polychaete worms like the Feather Duster of the Eudistylia family are marine dwellers.  Red Tube Worm, Serpula vermicularis.  A beautifully colored polychaete worm that stand out in dramatic contrast to Giant Feather Duster, Eudistylia, beside it.  Growing only to four inches in length they are seen from low tide line to three hundred feet deep.

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Two Classes and thousands of individual species of Phylum Annelidia represent wildlife in the Northwest:

Class Polychaeta - Predominately marine worms with distinct head, eyes, and tentacles

Class Oligochaeta - Earthworms and freshwater annelids

Class Hirudinea - Leeches

Our Northwest shorelines abound with a variety of annelids.  The Clam Worm is about six inches long and normally found hiding under rocks at low tide.  They are quick little rascals and not patient with photographers.  The pink Lugworm on the right grows to nearly a foot in length and is truly a strange looking creature.  The two inch long Scaled Worm on the right displays the distinctive scales from which its name derives.

The Orange Sea Cucumber is an unexpected member of the worm phylum.  A Red Tube worm extends its feathery head into the surf to gather tiny particles for food.

 Protozoans  Sponges  Cnidarians  Ctenophores Arthropods  Echinoderms  Mollusks  Nematodes  Flatworms  Annelid Worms

Birds  Mammals  Reptiles  Amphibians  Fish  Invertebrates  Home

Mission  Editor Bio  Contact   Wildlife Park Links  Further Study  Wild Employment  Northwest Trek

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