Tube worm

Tube of a serpulid worm attached to a branch of the coral Cladocora from the Pliocene of Cyprus.

A tube worm is a worm-like sessile invertebrate which anchors its tail to an underwater surface. It creates a mineral tube around its body, and can withdraw the body into it.

Tube worms are found in these groups:

• The phylum Annelida (segmented worms)
  • The class Polychaetea (bristle worms)
    • The order Canalipalpata (bristle-footed annelids or fan-head worms)
      • The family Siboglinidae (beard worms)
        • The genus Lamellibrachia
        • The species Riftia pachyptila (giant tube worm)
      • The family Serpulidae
      • The family Sabellidae (feather duster worms)
• The phylum Phoronida (horseshoe worms)
• The order Microconchida (extinct tubeworms)