''Sabellaria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of marine

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made ...

worms in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Sabellariidae Sabellariidae is a family of marine polychaete worms in the suborder Sabellida. The worms live in tubes made of sand and are filter feeders and detritivores. Characteristics Members of this family live in tubes made of sand and shell fragments c ...

. The type species is ''

Sabellaria alveolata ''Sabellaria alveolata'', (also known as the honeycomb worm), is a reef-forming polychaete. It is distributed around the Mediterranean Sea, and from the north Atlantic Ocean to south Morocco. It is also found in the British Isles at its norther ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1767). These worms are sedentary and build tubes in which to live from sand and shell fragments. Some species are called honeycomb worms and when they occur in great numbers they can form reefs on rocks and other hard substrates. They are

filter feeders Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

, extending a plume-like fan of

radiole A radiole is a heavily ciliated feather-like tentacle found in highly organized clusters on the crowns of Canalipalpata. Canalipalpata is an order of sessile marine polychaete worms consisting of 31 families (including the Sabellidae, Serpulida ...

s from the end of the tube in order to catch

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

and detritus floating past. They have a distinctive operculum which is used to block the opening of the tube when the radioles are retracted.Littoral Sabellaria honeycomb worm reefs
JNCC. Retrieved 2011-11-02.

Species

The following

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are listed by the World Register of Marine Species: *'' Sabellaria alcocki'' Gravier, 1906 *''

'' (Linnaeus, 1767) *'' Sabellaria bella'' (Grube, 1870) *'' Sabellaria bellani'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria bellis'' Hansen, 1882 *'' Sabellaria chandraae'' Silva, 1961 *'' Sabellaria clava'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria eupomatoides'' Augener, 1918 *'' Sabellaria fissidens'' (Grube, 1870) *'' Sabellaria floridensis'' Hartman, 1944 *'' Sabellaria fosterae'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria fucicola'' Augener, 1918 *'' Sabellaria gilchristi'' McIntosh, 1924 *'' Sabellaria gracilis'' Hartman, 1944 *'' Sabellaria grueti'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria guinensis'' Augener, 1918 *'' Sabellaria intoshi'' Fauvel, 1914 *'' Sabellaria ishikawai'' Okuda, 1938 *'' Sabellaria isumiensis'' Nishi et al. 2010 *'' Sabellaria javanica'' Augener, 1934 *'' Sabellaria longispina'' Grube, 1848 *'' Sabellaria lotensis'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria magnifica'' Grube, 1848 *'' Sabellaria marskaae'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria minuta'' Carrasco & Bustos, 1981 *'' Sabellaria miryaensis'' Parab & Gaikwad, 1990 *'' Sabellaria moorei'' Monro, 1933 *'' Sabellaria nanella'' Chamberlin, 1919 *'' Sabellaria orensanzi'' Kirtley, 1994 *'' Sabellaria pectinata'' Fauvel, 1932 *'' Sabellaria ranjhi'' Hasan, 1960 *'' Sabellaria spinularia'' *'' Sabellaria spinulosa'' Leuckart, 1849 *'' Sabellaria taurica'' (Rathke, 1837) *'' Sabellaria tottoriensis'' Nishi, Kato & Hayahi, 2004 *'' Sabellaria vulgaris'' Verrill, 1873 *'' Sabellaria wilsoni'' Lana & Gruet, 1989

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3612957 Sabellida Polychaete genera