Ornate worm

Amphitrite ornata

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth2–480 m
Water temperature-1–29 °C
Best monthsApril, November, and December
How commonOccasional

All species

About this species

Amphitrite ornata or ornate worm, is a species of marine polychaete worm in the family Terebellidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Amphitrite ornata”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 22 records
February: 14 records
March: 17 records
April: 26 records
May: 25 records
June: 23 records
July: 20 records
August: 10 records
September: 22 records
October: 23 records
November: 29 records
December: 30 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–480 m · Deepest record: 2,985 m

0–10 m: 17 records
10–20 m: 4 records
20–30 m: 3 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 10 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 8 records
110+ m: 7 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–29 °C

-2–0 °C: 9 records
0–2 °C: 0 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 4 records
12–14 °C: 9 records
14–16 °C: 47 records
16–18 °C: 19 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 146 records
22–24 °C: 9 records
24–26 °C: 13 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 5 records

Names and classification

English: Ornate worm, Amphitrite, Ornate Terebellid Worm, ornate worm

Names in 1 more languages

German: Zierwurm

Other scientific names: Neoamphitrite ornata, Terebella ornata

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
309 open-data records from 1973 to 2025.

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