Feather Duster Worm

ID points

• A ring of feathery gill plumes opens at the top like a duster
• Lives in a soft leathery tube of its own making
• Snaps back into the tube the moment a shadow comes near

Basics

Family

Sabellidae

Length

5–20 cm

Depth

1-50 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Coral reefs and hard bottoms worldwide

Habitat

Hard reef surfaces

Diet

Plankton

Easily confused with

Christmas Tree WormTwo spiral cones of feathery gills, like a pair of tiny Christmas treesBarrel SpongeA huge barrel-shaped body with a deep central openingBrain CoralDome-shaped colony with winding grooves like a brain

Fun fact

It filters plankton with a splendid feather-shaped crown of gills. At the first shadow or vibration, the whole crown snaps back down into the tube in 0.02 seconds.