Summary ⁵

Ficopomatus enigmaticus, commonly known as the Australian tubeworm, is a species of serpulid tubeworms. Their true native range is unknown, but they probably originated in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps from the Indian Ocean and the coastal waters of Australia. Today they have a cosmopolitan distribution, having been introduced to shallow waters worldwide. The Australian tubeworm is an invasive species that dominates and alters habitats, reduces water quality, depletes resources, and causes biofouling.

In Lake Merritt ⁶

This tube worm was so abundant in the 1960s-1970s that it formed small reefs in the lake. These days it's much less abundant.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Etrusko25, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Ficopomatus_enigmaticus_1.jpg
2. (c) Damon Tighe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Damon Tighe
3. (c) Duane Cox, Museum Victoria, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Ficopomatus_enigmaticus_individual.jpg
4. (c) Duane Cox, Museum Victoria, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ficopomatus_enigmaticus_individual_and_tubes.jpg
5. Adapted by Ken-ichi Ueda from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficopomatus_enigmaticus
6. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• SeaLifeBase
• World Polychaeta Database
• World Register of Marine Species

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