Loimia medusa | |
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Clade: | Sedentaria |
Order: | Terebellida |
Family: | Terebellidae |
Genus: | Loimia |
Species: | L. medusa
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Binomial name | |
Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1822)
|
Loimia medusa, commonly known as the spaghetti worm, is an aquatic species of annelids belonging to the family Terebellidae. [1]
Loimia medusa has long bluish white feeding tentacles that give the appearance of spaghetti noodles under any kind of rubble or rocks. [2] Under those rocks, it has a body that is surrounded by a tube consisting of bits of shell and gravel, [3] creating a tube that has a tough membranous lining with segments. The body can grow to be about 12 in (300 mm) long, while the tentacles can grow to twice that length. [4]
Loimia medusa prefers tropical oceans, such as the Indo-Pacific and the Western Central Atlantic, [5] including reefs off of the Hawaiian Islands. [6]
Its habitat includes spaces such as tidepools, brackish waters, and bays that consist of rubble. [5] They can also be found in sand and coral reefs in the deeper waters across the Hawaiian islands. [7]
In Hawai'i, Loimia medusa is known as the Kauna'oa. During the Old Hawai'i times, this invertebrate was used for medicinal purposes. [3]
Loimia medusa | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Clade: | Sedentaria |
Order: | Terebellida |
Family: | Terebellidae |
Genus: | Loimia |
Species: | L. medusa
|
Binomial name | |
Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1822)
|
Loimia medusa, commonly known as the spaghetti worm, is an aquatic species of annelids belonging to the family Terebellidae. [1]
Loimia medusa has long bluish white feeding tentacles that give the appearance of spaghetti noodles under any kind of rubble or rocks. [2] Under those rocks, it has a body that is surrounded by a tube consisting of bits of shell and gravel, [3] creating a tube that has a tough membranous lining with segments. The body can grow to be about 12 in (300 mm) long, while the tentacles can grow to twice that length. [4]
Loimia medusa prefers tropical oceans, such as the Indo-Pacific and the Western Central Atlantic, [5] including reefs off of the Hawaiian Islands. [6]
Its habitat includes spaces such as tidepools, brackish waters, and bays that consist of rubble. [5] They can also be found in sand and coral reefs in the deeper waters across the Hawaiian islands. [7]
In Hawai'i, Loimia medusa is known as the Kauna'oa. During the Old Hawai'i times, this invertebrate was used for medicinal purposes. [3]