Bristleworm

Cirratulus cirratus

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth18–175 m
Water temperature-2–29 °C
Best monthsMay
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Sean Hartnett, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Cirratulus cirratus is a species of marine polychaete worm in the family Cirratulidae. It occurs in the littoral and sub-littoral zones of the Atlantic Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cirratulus cirratus”, 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: 102 records
February: 60 records
March: 202 records
April: 272 records
May: 531 records
June: 293 records
July: 217 records
August: 172 records
September: 194 records
October: 107 records
November: 85 records
December: 41 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 18–175 m · Deepest record: 1,180 m

0–10 m: 216 records
10–20 m: 160 records
20–30 m: 143 records
30–40 m: 76 records
40–50 m: 73 records
50–60 m: 85 records
60–70 m: 416 records
70–80 m: 558 records
80–90 m: 234 records
90–100 m: 165 records
100–110 m: 164 records
110+ m: 1,243 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -2–29 °C

-2–0 °C: 10 records
0–2 °C: 3 records
2–4 °C: 4 records
4–6 °C: 3 records
6–8 °C: 13 records
8–10 °C: 50 records
10–12 °C: 674 records
12–14 °C: 76 records
14–16 °C: 8 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 15 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 1 records
28–30 °C: 8 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Bristleworm, Northern cirratule, Redthreads, Angel Hair Worm, bristleworm, northern cirratule, redthreads

Names in 4 more languages

German: Fadenbüschelwurm, Nordischer Rankenwurm
Spanish: Gusano cabello de ángel
Japanese: チグサミズヒキ
Korean: 가는실타래갯지렁이

Other scientific names: Cirratulus blainvillei, Cirratulus blainvillii, Cirratulus borealis, Cirratulus flavescens, Lumbricus cirratus, Promenia fulgida

Similar species

Cirratulus africanus
Cirratulus annamensis
Bristleworm
Aphelochaeta marioni
Chaetozone setosa
Red Thread-gilled Worm
Cirriformia tentaculata
Aphelochaeta filiformis

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).
11,153 open-data records from 1902 to 2023.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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