Loimia medusa | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Clade: | Sedentaria |
Order: | Terebellida |
Family: | Terebellidae |
Genus: | Loimia |
Species: | L. medusa |
Binomial name | |
Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1822) | |
Loimia medusa, commonly known as the spaghetti worm or medusa worm, [1] is an aquatic species of annelid belonging to the family Terebellidae. [2]
Loimia medusa has long bluish white feeding tentacles that give the appearance of spaghetti noodles under any kind of rubble or rocks. [3] Under those rocks, it has a body that is surrounded by a tube consisting of bits of shell and gravel, [4] creating a tube that has a tough membranous lining with segments. The body can grow to be about 12 in (300 mm) long, while the tentacles can grow to twice that length. [5]
Loimia medusa prefers tropical oceans, such as the Indo-Pacific and the Western Central Atlantic, [6] including reefs off of the Hawaiian Islands. [7]
Its habitat includes spaces such as tidepools, brackish waters, and bays that consist of rubble. [6] They can also be found in sand and coral reefs in the deeper waters across the Hawaiian islands. [8]
In Hawai'i, Loimia medusa is known as the Kauna'oa. During the Old Hawai'i times, this invertebrate was used for medicinal purposes. [4]