Fieldtrips and Fieldtrip Classes

Phylum Sipuncula

Sipunculans are unsegmented worms, although they may *appear* segmented because the muscle bands that underlie their skin gives them a ribbed appearance. When startled, they contract and resemble a peanut (hence their common name "peanut worms"). They feed by extending a proboscis with tentacles at the tip to capture particulare organic detritus—in other words, they are scavengers. They have a U-shaped gut, with both their mouth and anus at the anterior end. They are found buried in the sediment under rocks in the mid- and low-intertidal zone.

Click on the links below to learn more about the different sipunculan worms that are found in the intertidal of the Gulf of California. To go back to the Gallery of Marine Life, click here.

To take a practice quiz on the Phylum Sipuncula, click here.

Giant Peanut Worm