Hemichordates: Hemichordata
Spaghetti Worm (saxipendium Coronatum): Species Accounts
Physical characteristics: Spaghetti worms are thin and yellowish white. They can be as long as 10 feet (3 meters). The snout tapers to a soft point toward the front, and the collar is short.
Geographic range: Spaghetti worms live in the Pacific Ocean near the Galápagos Islands.
Habitat: Spaghetti worms live in the deepest ocean loosely attached to rocks near hydrothermal (high-druh-THUR-muhl) vents, which are openings in the ocean floor that serve as smokestacks for releasing extremely hot gases from under Earth's crust.
Diet: Scientists do not know what spaghetti worms eat.
Spaghetti worms live in the deepest ocean loosely attached to rocks near hydrothermal vents.
Behavior and reproduction: Spaghetti worms live in tangled coils covered with mucus. Except that fertilization takes place outside the body, scientists do not know how spaghetti worms reproduce.
Spaghetti worms and people: Spaghetti worms have no known importance to people.
Conservation status: Spaghetti worms are not considered threatened or endangered. ∎
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Books:
Valentine, James W. On the Origin of Phyla. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Web sites:
Scott, Susan. "Elusive Acorn Worms Are Ocean's Vacuum Cleaners." Ocean Watch. http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2001/aug17-01.html (accessed on March 2, 2005).
Scott, Susan. "Spaghetti Worms Utilize Tentacles in Amazing Ways." Ocean Watch. http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch1998/jan19-98.html (accessed on March 2, 2005).
Additional topics
- Hemichordates: Hemichordata - Hawaiian Acorn Worm (ptychodera Flava): Species Accounts
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Animal Life ResourceJellyfish, Sponges, and Other Simple AnimalsHemichordates: Hemichordata - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Hawaiian Acorn Worm (ptychodera Flava): Species Accounts, Spaghetti Worm (saxipendium Coronatum): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, HEMICHORDATES AND PEOP