Lugworm

marine worm

The lugworm (Arenicola marina), also known as the sandworm, is a large marine worm of the phylum Annelida. Lugworms make the coiled tubes of sand that are a familiar sight on a beach at low tide. The lugworm itself is not seen except by people who dig them up from curiosity or to use as fishing bait.

Lugworm
Lugworm, Arenicola marina
Scientific classification
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A. marina
Binomial name
Arenicola marina [1]

The lugworm lives in a U-shaped tube in the sand, and filters out its food from the water.

Arenicola marina can grow to about 5 inches long (13 cm). Its body is segmented, like that of an earthworm. It has bristles in the middle of its body. It is a polychaete. It also has well-developed blood-vessels, and gills to breathe in the water.

Although the textbook example is usually Arenicola marina, there is a second species, Arenicola defodiens, which lives a similar life. It grows to about 9 inches long (23 cm)

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