Spirorbis
Encyclopedia
Spirorbis is a genus
of very small (2-5mm) polychaete
worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral
and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. Spirorbis worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some species live directly on rocks, shells or other hard substrates. Spirorbis was once thought to have a fossil record extending back into the Early Paleozoic
, but now all pre-Cretaceous
spirorbids are known to be microconchids
. The genus contains the following species:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of very small (2-5mm) polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral
Littoral
The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. Spirorbis worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some species live directly on rocks, shells or other hard substrates. Spirorbis was once thought to have a fossil record extending back into the Early Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
, but now all pre-Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
spirorbids are known to be microconchids
Microconchida
The Order Microconchida is a group of small, spirally-coiled, encrusting fossil "worm" tubes found from the Upper Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic around the world . They have lamellar calcitic shells, usually with pseudopunctae or punctae and a bulb-like origin...
. The genus contains the following species:
- Spirorbis borealisSpirorbis borealisSpirorbis borealis is a sedentary marine polychaete worm in the Serpulidae family. It is commonly called the sinistral spiral tubeworm and is the type species of the genus Spirorbis....
Daudin, 1800 - Spirorbis corallinaeSpirorbis corallinaeSpirorbis corallinae is a very small coiled polychaete that lives attached to seaweed in shallow saltwater.It has a smooth, white or semi-translucent, sinistral coiled shell encasing an orange body about 1.5 mm in length.The worm has a short abdominal region and a slightly broader thorax...
De Silva and Knight-jones, 1962 - Spirorbis cuneatus Gee, 1964
- Spirorbis granulatus
- Spirorbis incongruus
- Spirorbis inornatus L'hardy and Quievreux, 1962
- Spirorbis knightjonesi Desilva, 1965
- Spirorbis lineatus
- Spirorbis marioni (Caullery and Mesnil, 1897)
- Spirorbis medius
- Spirorbis moerchi
- Spirorbis nakamurai
- Spirorbis quadrangularis
- Spirorbis quasimilitaris Bailey, 1970
- Spirorbis rupestris Gee and Knight-jones, 1962
- Spirorbis semidentatus
- Spirorbis similis
- Spirorbis spirorbisSpirorbis spirorbisSpirorbis spirorbis is a small coiled polychaete that lives attached to seaweeds and eel grass in shallow saltwater.They have a smooth, white, sinistral coiled shell encasing an orange body about 3 mm in length...
(Linnaeus, 1758) - Spirorbis steueri Sterzinger, 1909
- Spirorbis tridentata Levinsen, 1883
- Spirorbis variabilis
- Spirorbis violaceus