Polychaeta | 
Canalipalpata | 
Sternaspidae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Benthic; brackish; depth range 6 - 181 m (Ref. 112705).  Tropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Arctic, Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, Adriatic, Mediterranean and Antarctic Atlantic:  Central America to northern Brazil and Canadian Arctic Archipelago.  Tropical to polar.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm			
			
			
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Minimum depth from Ref. 127093. In well sorted sediments mainly composed of coarse to fine sand (Ref. 127093).  A subsurface deposit-feeder (Refs. 96292, 96498).  Surface deposit feeder (Ref. 108299).  Motile burrower that uses an unarmed pharynx for feeding (Ref. 125872).				
			
			
			
			
			
				Life cycle and mating behavior				
					Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae				
			
			
				
					Members of the class Polychaeta are mostly gonochoric (sexual).  Mating:  Females produce a pheromone attracting and signalling the males to shed sperm which in turn stimulates females to shed eggs, this behavior is known as swarming.  Gametes are spawned through the metanephridia or body wall rupturing (termed as "epitoky", wherein a pelagic, reproductive individual, "epitoke", is formed from a benthic, nonreproductive individual, "atoke").  After fertilization, most eggs become planktonic; although some are retained in the worm tubes or burrowed in jelly masses attached to the tubes (egg brooders).  Life Cycle:  Eggs develop into trocophore larva, which later metamorph into juvenile stage (body lengthened), and later develop into adults.				
			
			
			
			
			
				Salazar-Vallejo, S.I. and M.H. Londoño-Mesa 2004 Lista de especies y bibliografía de poliquetos (Polychaeta) del Pacífico Oriental Tropical. Anales del Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Serie Zoología 75(1):9-97. (Ref. 8159)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
				
									
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
							
			
			
				 | FishSource | 			
			
			
			
			
			
Tools
			
			
			
			
				
					More information				
				
					 Population dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionAbundance   Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae   PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
									
						Preferred temperature  					
				 (Ref. 
115969): 0.7 - 11, mean 4.5 (based on 1805 cells).			
 
			
			
			
			
			
						
						
						
			
									
						Price category  					
					
					Unknown.