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Acoetidae
Natural History
Acoetids are long scale worms which live in thick pliable tubes made from strands of chaetae generated by the worm. Sediment particles may also be incorporated in the tube. Anecdotal reports indicate that these jawed scale-worms may be either predators, scavengers or omnivores (Pettibone 1989). Acoetids are apparently long-lived, and their tubes may be associated with similarly long-lived sessile invertebrates and may harbour various commensal organisms. They are widely distributed from low intertidal to depths up to 1500m, but are not common in benthic samples.
Diversity
Pettibone (1989) reported on 8 genera and 46 species of Acoetidae known world-wide. Only 2 species, both in the genus Polyodontes, are known from Australian waters. The interactive key enables identification of all genera and of the known Australian species.
Description | Identification
tips | Natural History | Diversity
| Checklist | References
| Interactive Key
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