Loimia medusa
{{Short description|Species of annelid}}
{{Speciesbox
| genus = Loimia
| species = medusa
| authority = (Savigny, 1822)
}}
File:Spaghetti_Worm_Loimia_medusa.jpg
Loimia medusa, commonly known as the spaghetti worm or medusa worm,{{cite book |last1=Kaplan |first1=Eugene Herbert |title=A Field Guide to Coral Reefs |date=1999 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=9780618002115 |page=139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLYPWMoBkccC |access-date=11 September 2024}} is an aquatic species of annelid belonging to the family Terebellidae.{{BioRef |WoRMS|title=Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1822) |id=131499 |access-date=2024-02-05}}
Description
Loimia medusa has long bluish white feeding tentacles that give the appearance of spaghetti noodles under any kind of rubble or rocks.{{cite book |last1=Devaney |first1=M. |title=Reef and Shore Fauna of Hawai'i |date=1987 |isbn=0-930897-11-0 |pages=401, 402 |publisher=Bishop Museum Press }} Under those rocks, it has a body that is surrounded by a tube consisting of bits of shell and gravel,{{cite web |title=Project Aloha 'Āina |url=https://ulukau.org/gsdl2.81/cgi-bin/cbalohaainakauai?a=d&d=D0.15.1>=2&e=010off--00-1--0--010---4-------0-1l--11haw-----00-3-1-000--0-0-11000 |website=Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library |access-date=8 April 2024}} creating a tube that has a tough membranous lining with segments. The body can grow to be about {{cvt|12|in}} long, while the tentacles can grow to twice that length.{{cite book |last1=Edmondson |first1=Charles |title=Reef and Shore Fauna of Hawai'i |date=1987 |isbn=0-930897-11-0 |page=401 |publisher=Bishop Museum Press }}
Distribution and habitat
Loimia medusa prefers tropical oceans, such as the Indo-Pacific and the Western Central Atlantic,{{cite web |title=Loimia medusa (Savigny, 1818) |url=https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Loimia-medusa.html |website=Sealife Base |access-date=8 April 2024}} including reefs off of the Hawaiian Islands.{{cite web |last1=Stender |first1=Keoki |last2=Stender |first2=Yuki |title=Loimia Medusa |url=https://www.marinelifephotography.com/marine/worms/loimia-medusa.htm |website=Marine Life Photography |access-date=8 April 2024}}
Its habitat includes spaces such as tidepools, brackish waters, and bays that consist of rubble. They can also be found in sand and coral reefs in the deeper waters across the Hawaiian islands.{{cite book |last1=Hoover |first1=John |title=Hawai'i's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates |date=1999 |isbn=978-1-56647-220-3 |page=85|publisher=Mutual Pub. }}