Neanthes succinea
ORDER
Phyllodocida
FAMILY
Nereidae
TAXONOMY
Nereis succinea (Neanthes) Frey and Leuckart, 1847, North Sea.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Bristleworm.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body is usually red in color, reaching up to 7.4 in (19 cm). Head with four large eyes, small antennae, and long palps. Pharynx bears chitinous jaws and small teeth (paragnaths). Parapodia are well developed with bristles.
DISTRIBUTION
Cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical waters.
HABITAT
Found from intertidal zone to subtidal regions in mud and sand and under rocks as infaunal organism, as well as in dock-fouling communities of marinas, hiding between mussel and oyster beds as part of the epifauna. Being an euryhaline species, it is also found in estuarine regions.
BEHAVIOR
Active crawler at night; hidden during daytime when it constructs a mucous-lined tube.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
The jawed eversible proboscis is used to capture small invertebrates or graze on detritus and plant material. Usually feeds at night.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Sexes are separated. During breeding season, it becomes epitokous (modified forms filled with gametes called heteronereids) and individuals swim together stimulated by pheromones, releasing gametes in water where fertilization takes place.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Larva is preyed upon by fishes and birds that feed in water column.
