''Spirorbis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of very small ()

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...

worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and

sublittoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal area ...

zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to

seaweeds Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

, but some species live directly on rocks, shells or other hard substrates. ''Spirorbis'' was once thought to have a fossil record extending back into the Early

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

, but now all pre-

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

spirorbins are known to be

microconchids The order Microconchida is a group of small, spirally-coiled, encrusting fossil "worm" tubes from the class Tentaculita found from the Upper Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) around the world. They have lamellar calcitic shells, u ...

. The earliest members of genus appeared in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, but

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

finds may also be possible. The genus contains the following species: * ''

Spirorbis borealis ''Spirorbis borealis'' is a sedentary marine Polychaeta, polychaete worm in the Serpulidae family. It is commonly called the sinistral spiral tubeworm and is the type species of the genus ''Spirorbis''. Polychaetes, or marine bristle worms, hav ...

'' Daudin, 1800 * '' Spirorbis corallinae'' De Silva and Knight-jones, 1962 * '' Spirorbis cuneatus'' Gee, 1964 * '' Spirorbis granulatus'' * '' Spirorbis incongruus'' * ''

Spirorbis inornatus ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' L'hardy and Quievreux, 1962 * '' Spirorbis knightjonesi'' Desilva, 1965 * '' Spirorbis lineatus'' * '' Spirorbis marioni'' (Caullery and Mesnil, 1897) * ''

Spirorbis medius ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis moerchi ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis nakamurai ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis quadrangularis ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis quasimilitaris ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' Bailey, 1970 * ''

Spirorbis rupestris ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but som ...

'' Gee and Knight-jones, 1962 * ''

Spirorbis semidentatus ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis similis ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis spirorbis ''Spirorbis spirorbis'' is a small (3–4 mm) coiled polychaete that lives attached to seaweeds and eel grass in shallow saltwater. They have a smooth, white, sinistral (left-handed) coiled shell encasing an orange body about 3 mm in l ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) * ''

Spirorbis steueri ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' Sterzinger, 1909 * '' Spirorbis tridentata'' Levinsen, 1883 * ''

Spirorbis variabilis ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the lower littoral and sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live attached to seaweeds, but some ...

'' * ''

Spirorbis violaceus ''Spirorbis'' is a genus of very small () polychaete worms, usually with a white coiled shell. Members of the genus live in the littoral, lower littoral and Sublittoral zone, sublittoral zones of rocky shores. ''Spirorbis'' worms usually live att ...

References

External links

General spirorbid morphology and ecology
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3493593 Serpulidae Polychaete genera Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by François Marie Daudin Paleozoic life of Ontario Paleozoic life of Alberta Paleozoic life of the Northwest Territories Paleozoic life of Quebec