Sponge worm
Haplosyllis spongicola
(Grube, 1855)

Description:
This small, white, parasitic worm lives on the inner walls of sponges, where it can mass with thousands on one sponge.
Size: up to 1 cm.

Habitat:
Lives on sponges, most often on the Touch-me-not sponge Neofibularia nolitangere.
Depth: ranges from 3 m down to 40 m.

Distribution:
Common all over the Caribbean.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Genus Haplosyllis
Species Haplosyllis spongicola

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Haplosyllis spongicola (Grube, 1855)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Sponge worm [English]
Sponge threadworm [English]

Humann, P., 1992. Reef Creature Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas, (ed. N. Deloach). New World Publications, Inc., Paramount Miller Graphics, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida.

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You can continue searching for Haplosyllis spongicola on one of these Web sites:

Fauna Europaea (animals) | IOPI (plants) | NCBI (genetic)

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