Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California

Compiled & photographed by Gary McDonald, Long Marine Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz
Harmothoe imbricata (Linnaeus, 1767)
Fifteen-scaled Worm
Annelida: Polychaeta: Palpata: Aciculata: Phyllodocida: Polynoidae
Geographic Range: Pt. Barrow, AK to southern California; circumpolar. Synonyms:
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Harmothoe_imbricata_0002.jpg
Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 19 Jan 2008.

Description: Color quite variable, usually a shade of brown. With 15 pairs of dorsal scales (elytra), ventral setae with bifid tips..

Size: Typically about 30mm in length, but may reach 65mm.

Notes: May be free-living in crevices, under rocks, or in algal holdfast; also commensal with tube-dwelling polychaetes.
Harmothoe_imbricata_0006.jpg
Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 19 Jan 2008.		  

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