Alitta virens (common names include sandworm, sea worm, and king ragworm; older scientific names, including Nereis virens, are still frequently used) is an annelid worm that burrows in wet sand and mud. They construct burrows of different shapes (I,U,J and Y) [2] They range from being very complex to very simple. Long term burrows are held together by mucus. Their burrows are not connected to each other; they are generally solitary creatures. The spacing between the burrows depends on how readily they can propagate water signals.[2]
| Alitta virens | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Subclass: | Errantia |
| Order: | Phyllodocida |
| Family: | Nereididae |
| Genus: | Alitta |
| Species: | A. virens
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| Binomial name | |
| Alitta virens | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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It was first described by biologist Michael Sars in 1835.[3] It is classified as a polychaete in the family Nereididae.[1]
Sandworms make up a large part of the live sea-bait industry. To fulfill the needs of this industry, some sandworms are commercially grown.[4] Sandworming, the harvesting of sandworms from mudflats, employs over 1,000 people in Maine, US. As of 2006[update], the population of sandworms had diminished greatly over the preceding few years due in large part to overharvesting before the worms are able to reproduce by spawning.[citation needed] Sandworms are also essential to the study of the investigation of metal uptake in marine biology.[5] They are vital to evaluate the effects of metals in marine organisms.[6]
Sandworms eat seaweed and microorganisms. Sandworms are known to be omnivores. Their diet consists of surface sediment, plant and animal remains. They are oftentimes exposed to metals through their diet and their burrowing tactics.[5] They have many distinctive traits, including:
- often reaching great lengths, sometimes exceeding four feet
- They are large in size (approximately 30 cm more or less) [5]
- Sandworms are abundant in European coasts and fiord environments.[5]
- They dominate fully saline coastal areas and have large distribution along with large biomass.[6]
- numerous, highly vascularized parapodia along both sides of their bodies
- blue heads with two large pincer teeth which are capable of biting humans[7]
The parapodia function both as external gills (the animal's primary respiratory surfaces), and as means of locomotion (appearing much like short legs).[citation needed]
Usually, sandworms are gonochoric, meaning that they reproduce sexually between the males and females of the species. Sandworms reproduce via a process termed 'swarming'. The female sandworm releases pheromones that attract males to release sperm. Then, the female sandworm ejects eggs to have them fertilized. The production of gametes occurs via the metanephridia gland.[8]
Gallery
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References
edit- ^ a b c Kristian Fauchald & Chris Glasby (2009). Kristian Fauchald (ed.). "Alitta virens (M. Sars, 1835)". World Polychaeta database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
* indicates a heterotypic synonym - ^ a b Salvo, Flora; Dufour, Suzanne C.; Archambault, Philippe; Stora, Georges; Desrosiers, Gaston (2013). "Spatial distribution of Alitta virens burrows in intertidal sediments studied by axial tomodensitometry". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 93 (6): 1543–1552. Bibcode:2013JMBUK..93.1543S. doi:10.1017/s0025315413000519. S2CID 87480544.
- ^ "Alitta virens (M. Sars, 1835)". World Register of Marine Species.
- ^ Hoekstra, Rob; Kool, A.; Louws, C.A. (September 2005). De kweek van zagers op landbouwbedrijven in Zeeland (in Dutch). Utrecht: InnovatieNetwerk Groene Ruimte en Agrocluster. ISBN 90-5059-270-8. OCLC 66455921. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26.
- ^ a b c d Simonsen, Anne Mette T.; Pedersen, Kristine B.; Jensen, Pernille E.; Elberling, Bo; Bach, Lis (2019). "Lability of toxic elements in Submarine Tailings Disposal: The relationship between metal fractionation and metal uptake by sandworms (Alitta virens)". Science of the Total Environment. 696. Bibcode:2019ScTEn.696m3903S. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133903. PMID 31454604. S2CID 201658793.
- ^ a b Green Etxabe, Amaia; Pini, Jennifer M.; Short, Stephen; Cunha, Luis; Kille, Peter; Watson, Gordon J. (2021). "Identifying conserved polychaete molecular markers of metal exposure: Comparative analyses using the Alitta virens (Annelida, Lophotrochozoa) transcriptome". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology. 240. doi:10.1016/j.cbpc.2020.108913. PMID 33164845.
- ^ "King Ragworm". BritishSeaFishing.co.uk. July 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ "Alitta virens (Sars, 1835)". SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 30 November 2021.