rag worm

rag worm, any of a group of mostly marine or shore worms of the class Polychaeta (phylum Annelida). A few species live in fresh water. Other common names include mussel worm, pileworm, and sandworm. Rag worms vary in length from 2.5 to 90 cm (1 inch to 3 feet); they are commonly brown, bright red, or bright green. The head bears sharp retractable jaws. The first segment of the body has two short tentacles and four eyes; the second segment has four tentacle-like cirri. The number of body segments may exceed 200. All but the first two segments have a pair of parapodia—flat outgrowths bearing bristles—used for locomotion. Gases are exchanged across the well-vascularized parapodia. Rag worms’ principal foods are other worms and tiny sea animals.

Near mating time in most species, the rear part of the body becomes swollen with sperm or eggs. The worm leaves its shallow burrow on the sea bottom and, usually at night, releases sex cells near the water surface. After fertilization a spherical larva (trochophore) emerges from the egg. In some species mating occurs in the burrow. The female dies soon after.

Some species are simultaneous hermaphrodites (i.e., they have functional reproductive organs of both sexes) and may even reproduce by self-fertilization. The most common North American species is Nereis limnicola, found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. N. virens, which may be as long as 80 cm (31.5 inches), occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic. Some rag worms are commonly used by fishermen for bait.

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