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Introduced Marine Aquatic Invaders - a field guide
Introducted Marine Species - European Fan Worm
Sabella spallanzanii
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| European Fan Worm - Sabella spallanzanii Photo: Peter Morrison |
Australia Invasion
- Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia
- discovered in Western Australia during 1965, in Albany, Bunbury, Fremantle and Cockburn Sound
Habitat
- temperate waters
- prefer sheltered shallow subtidal areas
- also found in exposed waters but only where depth provides some protection (to 30 metres)
- attach to hard substrates like shells, pylons, wrecks, rocks etc, but also found in sand
ID Features
- flexible semi-transparent tube up to 50 cm long and 1 cm wide
- feather-like projections (radioles) extend from tube, up to 20 cm long
- form large meadows obscuring the sea floor
- crown of radioles varies in colour from orange to white to red-brown
- outer layer tube often covered in greyish silt, mud and other small marine organisms
- crown with two different size lobes of radioles – one lobe has more radioles than the other and forms a spiral with one to five whorls, whereas the other lobe forms a semicircle
More information
More detailed information on this Marine Invader is available here.
...More Information on this Invader
Similar Native Marine Species
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| Sabellastarte spp. Photo: Peter Morrison |
Sabellastarte spp.
- crown with two symmetrical (equal size) semicircles of radioles which do not form a spiral*
- crown is cream coloured with fawn bands*
- crown with two symmetrical spirals of radioles*
- crown pale mauve in colour*
* distinguishing feature
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