Scarlet Tubeworm

About this species

Galeolaria hystrix is a serpulid worm of the family Serpulidae, endemic to southern Australia and New Zealand.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Galeolaria hystrix”, 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: 35 records
February: 27 records
March: 14 records
April: 22 records
May: 22 records
June: 7 records
July: 13 records
August: 21 records
September: 17 records
October: 21 records
November: 34 records
December: 25 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–63 m · Deepest record: 73 m

0–10 m: 14 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 8 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 11–21 °C

10–12 °C: 10 records
12–14 °C: 10 records
14–16 °C: 12 records
16–18 °C: 4 records
18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 12 records

Photos

(c) Wendy Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Wendy Bailey · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Debra Baker · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Shaun, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Wendy Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Scarlet Tubeworm

Other scientific names: Eupomatus boltoni, Galeolaria rosea, Serpula (Eupomatus) boltoni, Vermilia (Galeolaria) hystrix, Vermilia hystrix, Vermilia rosea

Similar species

Intertidal Tube Worm
Galeolaria caespitosa
Galeolaria gemineoa
Ditrupa arietina
Hydroides norvegica
Australian tubeworm
Ficopomatus enigmaticus
Coral worm
Filograna implexa

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).
179 open-data records from 1898 to 2011.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.