Info
Sipunculus - peanut worm
They are detritivores using an eversible proboscis with many rings of tiny black or brown teeth at the end & terminal feeding tentacles surrounding the mouth to feed. As the proboscis is extended out the tiny teeth & the sticky tentacles pick up food particles; as it retracts back into the body the particles are gathered into a ball by the tentacles & swallowed. Normally they do not cause any damage. It is possible that the constant movement will irritate the corals & they won't grow over the area touched by the sipunculid.
Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Sipuncula (Phylum) > Sipunculidea (Class) > Golfingiida (Order) > Sipunculidae (Family) > Sipunculus (Genus) > Sipunculus (Sipunculus) (Subgenus) > Sipunculus (Species)
They are detritivores using an eversible proboscis with many rings of tiny black or brown teeth at the end & terminal feeding tentacles surrounding the mouth to feed. As the proboscis is extended out the tiny teeth & the sticky tentacles pick up food particles; as it retracts back into the body the particles are gathered into a ball by the tentacles & swallowed. Normally they do not cause any damage. It is possible that the constant movement will irritate the corals & they won't grow over the area touched by the sipunculid.
Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Sipuncula (Phylum) > Sipunculidea (Class) > Golfingiida (Order) > Sipunculidae (Family) > Sipunculus (Genus) > Sipunculus (Sipunculus) (Subgenus) > Sipunculus (Species)