Australian tubeworm

Ficopomatus enigmaticus

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–10 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Donald Davesne · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Ficopomatus enigmaticus, commonly known as the Australian tubeworm, is a species of serpulid tubeworms. Their true native range is unknown, but they probably originated in the Southern Hemisphere, perhaps from the Indian Ocean and the coastal waters of Australia. Today they have a cosmopolitan distribution, having been introduced to shallow waters worldwide. The Australian tubeworm is an invasive species that dominates and alters habitats, reduces water quality, depletes resources, and causes biofouling.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ficopomatus enigmaticus”, 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: 53 records
February: 130 records
March: 132 records
April: 142 records
May: 145 records
June: 108 records
July: 185 records
August: 115 records
September: 347 records
October: 103 records
November: 102 records
December: 82 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–10 m · Deepest record: 500 m

0–10 m: 89 records
10–20 m: 5 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 7 records
8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 65 records
12–14 °C: 116 records
14–16 °C: 19 records
16–18 °C: 27 records
18–20 °C: 17 records
20–22 °C: 6 records
22–24 °C: 7 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Tynen Benson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Tynen Benson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Marley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Peter Burka, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Australian tubeworm, Tube worm, Australian tubeworm, Tube worm, Estuarine Tube-worm, tube worm, Tubeworm

Names in 4 more languages

German: Tüten-Kalkröhrenwurm
Spanish: Poliqueto incrustante
French: Cascail, mercierelle, Mercierelle
Japanese: カニヤドリカンザシゴカイ

Other scientific names: Mercierella enigmatica, Phycopomatus enigmaticus

Similar species

Ficopomatus macrodon
Fouling serpulid
Ficopomatus uschakovi
Ditrupa arietina
Coral worm
Filograna implexa
Intertidal Tube Worm
Galeolaria caespitosa
Galeolaria gemineoa

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).
1,908 open-data records from 1920 to 2025.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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