Banded Ribbon Worm
The banded ribbon worm (Notospermus geniculatus) is a flat, boldly banded ribbon worm of the Indo-Pacific that lives in sand and under rocks in shallow seas. Its pale body has dark brown bands.
The banded ribbon worm (Notospermus geniculatus) is a flat, boldly banded ribbon worm of the Indo-Pacific that lives in sand and under rocks in shallow seas. Its pale body has dark brown bands.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Banded Ribbon Worm in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Lophotrochozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Banded and Flat
The body is shaped like a ribbon and is easily torn. It is a predator of other worms and small invertebrates that it paralyzes with toxins on the proboscis.
Toxins in Worms
Many ribbon worms contain neurotoxins such as tetrodotoxin and anabaseine, used for defense and capturing prey. See Blue-ringed Octopus.
Ribbon Worm Diversity
There are over a thousand species of nemerteans, mostly marine. See Bootlace Worm.
Banded Ribbon Worm at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Notospermus geniculatus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Nemertea |
| Class | Pilidiophora |
| Order | Heteronemertea |
| Family | Lineidae |
| Field Guide group | Lophotrochozoa: Worms, Shells & Allies |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Long dark-green to black worm ringed with thin white bands; stretches to many times its resting length and fires a proboscis at prey. |
| Phylum | Nemertea |
| Habitat | Indo-Pacific shallows |
See Also
- Bootlace Worm — a long ribbon worm
- Greater Blue-ringed Octopus — another tetrodotoxin carrier