Tubulanus ruber is a species of ribbon worm in the phylum Nemertea. Its range extends across the Pacific coast of North America, from the Monterey Bay to the Gulf of Alaska.[2] This species is found on boulders of the rocky intertidal, unlike many other species of Tubulanus that inhabit the sandy intertidal.[3][4]
Tubulanus ruber can grow to more than 3 meters in length when fully extended, making this species one of the largest in its genus.[2] It is also one of the visible, with its striking red, vermillion, or orange color.[2][3]
Taxonomy
Tubulanus ruber was first described by Bradney Beverley Griffin as Carinella rubra in 1898. This took place during his zoological expedition to Alaska and Washington as a graduate student, on fellowship from Columbia University.[5] The species was later transferred to the genus Tubulanus.[1] In 1940, Wesley Coe synonymized specimens from the Pacific Ocean with the type species, Tubulanus polymorphus,[6] which was known from the Atlantic Ocean.[7] However, a 2015 study re-established T. ruber as a separate species, citing distinct differences in coloration, reproductive biology, habitat, and genetics.[3]
1 2 3 Coe, Wesley Roswell (1905). Nemerteans of the west and northwest coasts of America. Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. pp.109–110.
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