Water worm (Cirriformia tentaculata)

Japanese: ミズヒキゴカイ(水引沙蚕) - ミズヒキゴカイ（英語表記）Cirriformia tentaculata

It is an annelid belonging to the Polychaeta family. It is found throughout Japan and the world, and lives by burrowing into the organic sand and mud of the coast. Its body is orange, with a raised back and a flat ventral surface. It is 6-15 cm long and 5 mm wide. It consists of about 300 short body segments. Its head is cone-shaped and has no tentacles or eyespots. Thread-like gill filaments arise from the first setal segment behind the warty feet on both sides of the body, but become sparser toward the rear. A group of about 20 red sensory filaments arise on the dorsal side of the fifth and sixth setal segments or the sixth and seventh setal segments, and when alive, they extend above the seafloor to breathe.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

多毛綱ミズヒキゴカイ科に属する環形動物。日本各地そして世界各地に分布し，海岸のやや有機質の多い砂泥地に潜って生活する。体は橙色で背中側が盛り上がり，腹面は扁平。長さ6～15cm，幅5mm。長さの短い約300ほどの体節からなる。頭部は円錐状で，触手や眼点はない。第1剛毛節から体両側のいぼ足の背方に糸状の鰓糸（さいし）が生ずるが，後方になるにつれてまばらになる。第5～6剛毛節か第6～7剛毛節の背側部に約20本ほどの紅色の感触糸が群れになって生じ，生時には海底の上にだして呼吸している。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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