Streblospio benedicti: taxon details and analytics

Domain
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Annelida
Class
Polychaeta
Order
Spionida
Family
Spionidae
Genus
Streblospio
Species
Streblospio benedicti
Scientific Name
Streblospio benedicti

Summary description from Wikipedia:

Streblospio benedicti

Streblospio benedicti (also called the Ram's horn worm) is a small polychaete native to the Western Atlantic, where its distribution ranges from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Venezuela. Sexual maturity is reached at around 9 to 14 weeks and populations and individuals may vary during development. It can be found in the mudflats and soft sediments of estuaries and coastal waters. Its general habitat includes oyster reefs, mangroves, grass beds, marinas, and docks while the tidal range where S. benedicti can be found is subtidal to intertidal. Additionally, S. benedicti can tolerate a broad range of temperatures and salinities. Due to its tolerance of high organic contents, S. benedicti is a pioneer organism of new habitats that it settles in. Furthermore, despite its small size, only reaching a maximum of 20 mm (0.79 in) in length, S. benedicti plays an important role in estuarine food webs as it can reach high population densities and is a substantial grazer of phytoplankton.

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Images from inaturalist.org observations:

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Streblospio benedicti
©Tony Iwane, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)