Tubeworms

Sabellidae

Feather duster worms and Christmas tree worms add bursts of colour to reef walls and coral heads. Their delicate spiral crowns retract instantly if you get too close — approach gently and they'll stay open for a perfect macro shot.

Last updated April 2026

Mediterranean fanwormSabella spallanzanii11 photos

Up to 30 cm1–30mRocky reefSand

A large fan worm that unfurls a striking spiral crown of feeding tentacles, often banded in orange, purple and white, from a tough leathery tube. It is common on Mediterranean rocky reefs, harbour walls and sediment bottoms, where it can grow in dense aggregations.

Observed at

Piedra del Hombre(La Herradura)Punta de la Mona(La Herradura)Bajo Piles I(Cabo de Palos)Las Planetas(Sant Feliu de Guíxols)

Red tube wormProtula tubularia9 photos

Up to 8 cm3–40mRocky reefCave

A striking tube worm with a bright red-orange feathery crown that spirals elegantly from its white calcareous tube. One of the most photogenic fixed organisms on Mediterranean walls.

Filter-feeds with its crown fully extended — retracts instantly if you get too close, so approach very slowly for photos.

Observed at

Bajo de Dentro(Cabo de Palos)El Plaer del Vell(Costa del Maresme)El negre(Costa del Maresme)El Santuari(Costa del Maresme)

Twin fan wormBispira volutacornis1 photos

Up to 15 cm1–50mRocky reefCave

A fan worm that extends two separate spiralled crowns of finely banded tentacles from a soft tube of mud and mucus wedged into rock crevices. It favours shaded reef walls and overhangs in the Mediterranean and the northeast Atlantic.

Calcareous tubewormSerpula vermicularis1 photos

Up to 7 cm1–30mRocky reefWreck

A tube worm that cements a hard, white, irregularly coiled calcareous tube to rock and unfurls a funnel-shaped crown of feeding tentacles, usually banded in red, orange or pink and closed by a single stoppered operculum. Widespread on Mediterranean and Atlantic rocky reefs and wrecks.

Observed at

Mar Menuda(Tossa de Mar)

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