Chaetophteridae
Encyclopedia
The Chaetopteridae are a family
of marine filter feeding polychaete worms
that live in vertical or U-shaped tubes in tunnels buried in the sedimentary or hard substrate of marine environments. The worms are highly adapted to the hard tube they secrete. Inside the tube the animal is segmented and regionally specialized, with highly modified appendages on different segments for cutting the tunnel, feeding, or creating suction for the flow of water through the tube home. The modified segments for feeding are on the 12th segment from the head for members of this family.
, Mesochaetopterus, and Spiochaetopterus feed using a thin mucus net suspended across the upper portion of their tube. The mucus net is secreted by a hooplike structure called the aliform notopodia arch. The net can grow at a rate as great as one millimeter per second as water currents generated by the notopodial fans pass plankton
through the net. When the net grows large enough it contacts the ciliated cup, which rolls up the net. When the roll becomes large the net is disconnected from the aliform notopodia and is rolled into a ball before the ciliated mid-dorsal
groove transports it to the mouth .
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of marine filter feeding polychaete worms
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
that live in vertical or U-shaped tubes in tunnels buried in the sedimentary or hard substrate of marine environments. The worms are highly adapted to the hard tube they secrete. Inside the tube the animal is segmented and regionally specialized, with highly modified appendages on different segments for cutting the tunnel, feeding, or creating suction for the flow of water through the tube home. The modified segments for feeding are on the 12th segment from the head for members of this family.
Feeding
The Chaetopteridae have several genera with peculiar and well-studied filter feeding mechanisms. The genera ChaetopterusChaetopterus
Chaetopterus or the parchment worm or parchment tube worm is a genus of marine polychaete worm that lives in a tube it constructs in sediments or attaches to a rocky or coral reef substrate. The common name arises from the parchment-like appearance of the tubes the worm lives in...
, Mesochaetopterus, and Spiochaetopterus feed using a thin mucus net suspended across the upper portion of their tube. The mucus net is secreted by a hooplike structure called the aliform notopodia arch. The net can grow at a rate as great as one millimeter per second as water currents generated by the notopodial fans pass plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
through the net. When the net grows large enough it contacts the ciliated cup, which rolls up the net. When the roll becomes large the net is disconnected from the aliform notopodia and is rolled into a ball before the ciliated mid-dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
groove transports it to the mouth .