Protula bispiralis

Protula bispiralis, commonly known as the red fanworm or as a mopworm, is a species of marine polychaete worm in the family Serpulidae.^[1]

Protula bispiralis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Clade:	Pleistoannelida
Clade:	Sedentaria
Order:	Sabellida
Family:	Serpulidae
Genus:	Protula
Species:	P. bispiralis
Binomial name
Protula bispiralis (Savigny, 1822)[1]

Description

Red fanworms have bodies which grow to 65mm in a tube of up to 10mm in diameter. They are lovely fanworms, having a white shell-like tube and two bright orange-red spirals of feathery branches protruding from it.^[2]

Distribution

These animals are found off the southern African coast from Cape Point to Durban, subtidally and to at least 25m.^[2]

Ecology

These animals grow under boulders or crevices, and are often seen on vertical rock faces. They use their feeding crowns to catch microplankton.^[2]

Synonyms

The following species are synonyms of Protula bispiralis:^[1]

• Protula (Philippiprotula) magnifica Straughan, 1967 (subjective synonym)
• Protula magnifica Straughan, 1967 (subjective synonym)
• Serpula (Spiramella) bispiralis Savigny, 1822 (objective synonym)
• Serpula bispiralis Savigny, 1822 (objective synonym)
• Spiramella bispiralis (Savigny, 1822) (objective synonym)