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Tentacled lagoon-worm
Alkmaria romijni
Tentacled lagoon worm © Phil Smith
This tiny bristleworm, less than five millimetres long, is scarce in this country. It lives in a tube made of mud in sheltered estuaries and lagoons. It has six gills and a number of smooth thread-like tentacles, which it pushes out from around its mouth to gather food from the surrounding mud. The tentacled lagoon worm appears to require muddy sediments in brackish water, which is not fully salty.
Tentacled lagoon-worms are included in national conservation legislation because they are scarce and are vulnerable to changes to, or loss of, the habitats in which they live.
Threats to tentacle lagoon-worms include pollution of the mud and seawater; changes in the currents and the nature of the mud; changes in saltiness of the water and mud; and disturbance from dredging and bait-digging.
Brief description of European distribution
In the UK, the tentacled lagoon-worm is found on the southern shores of the North Sea as far north as the Humber, along the English Channel and round into Pembrokeshire. Around Europe, it is found from the Netherlands to Denmark and in the Baltic Sea.
Conservation status / need
Protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Nationally scarce marine animal
The coastal lagoons in which they can be found are a UKBAP priority habitat and are listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive
Further information sources
Marine life information network
(marLIN)
World register of marine species (WoRMS)
Marine species identifiction portal
Interesting fact
Unlike so many marine creatures, whose eggs are dispersed widely on the currents, the larvae of tentacled lagoon-worms remain in the tube with their mother for about the first two weeks of life.
