Acorn Worm
Common Name: Acorn Worm
Scientific Name: Enteropneusta
Phylum: Enteropneusta
Class: Hemichordata
Other Taxonomy:
Specimen #: 55
Circumstance: Observed online
Specimen Condition: Specimen presumed dead
Location: Unknown (online)
Typical Habitat: They live in U-shaped burrows on the sea-bed, from the shoreline down to a depth of 10,000 ft. (3,050 m). The worms lie there with the proboscis sticking out of one opening in the burrow. Acorn worms are generally slow burrowers.
Invasive? Not an invasive species
Natural area of growth: They live in U-shaped burrows on the sea-bed, from the shoreline down to a depth of 10,000 ft. (3,050 m). The worms lie there with the proboscis sticking out of one opening in the burrow. Acorn worms are generally slow burrowers.
Relationship with humans: No known relationship with humans
Evolutionary Significance: No evolutionary significance
Feeding Mechanism: To obtain food, many acorn worms swallow sand or mud that contains organic matter and microorganisms in the manner of earthworms (this is known as deposit feeding). At low tide, they stick out their rear ends at the surface and excrete coils of processed sediments (casts).Another method that some acorn worms use to obtain food is to collect suspended particles of organic matter and microbes from the water. This is known as suspension feeding.
Sources: Cameron, C. (2002). "Particle retention and flow in the pharynx of the enteropneust worm Harrimania planktophilus: The filter-feeding pharynx may have evolved before the chordates". The Biological bulletin 202 (2): 192–200. PMID 11971814
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_worm
Scientific Name: Enteropneusta
Phylum: Enteropneusta
Class: Hemichordata
Other Taxonomy:
Specimen #: 55
Circumstance: Observed online
Specimen Condition: Specimen presumed dead
Location: Unknown (online)
Typical Habitat: They live in U-shaped burrows on the sea-bed, from the shoreline down to a depth of 10,000 ft. (3,050 m). The worms lie there with the proboscis sticking out of one opening in the burrow. Acorn worms are generally slow burrowers.
Invasive? Not an invasive species
Natural area of growth: They live in U-shaped burrows on the sea-bed, from the shoreline down to a depth of 10,000 ft. (3,050 m). The worms lie there with the proboscis sticking out of one opening in the burrow. Acorn worms are generally slow burrowers.
Relationship with humans: No known relationship with humans
Evolutionary Significance: No evolutionary significance
Feeding Mechanism: To obtain food, many acorn worms swallow sand or mud that contains organic matter and microorganisms in the manner of earthworms (this is known as deposit feeding). At low tide, they stick out their rear ends at the surface and excrete coils of processed sediments (casts).Another method that some acorn worms use to obtain food is to collect suspended particles of organic matter and microbes from the water. This is known as suspension feeding.
Sources: Cameron, C. (2002). "Particle retention and flow in the pharynx of the enteropneust worm Harrimania planktophilus: The filter-feeding pharynx may have evolved before the chordates". The Biological bulletin 202 (2): 192–200. PMID 11971814
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_worm