Tube-building worm

Hydroides elegans

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–500 m
Water temperature-0–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary, May, and June
How commonOccasional

About this species

Hydroides elegans is a species of tube-forming serpulid worms. The species was first described in 1883 by William Aitcheson Haswell as Eupomatus elegans.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hydroides elegans”, 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: 52 records
February: 137 records
March: 48 records
April: 95 records
May: 129 records
June: 109 records
July: 91 records
August: 84 records
September: 59 records
October: 51 records
November: 92 records
December: 38 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–500 m · Deepest record: 3,889.5 m

0–10 m: 56 records
10–20 m: 6 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 5 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 4 records
90–100 m: 28 records
100–110 m: 25 records
110+ m: 19 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -0–29 °C

-2–0 °C: 1 records
0–2 °C: 1 records
2–4 °C: 1 records
4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 5 records
10–12 °C: 33 records
12–14 °C: 64 records
14–16 °C: 11 records
16–18 °C: 56 records
18–20 °C: 128 records
20–22 °C: 381 records
22–24 °C: 47 records
24–26 °C: 51 records
26–28 °C: 28 records
28–30 °C: 11 records

Names and classification

English: Tube-building worm

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: カサネカンザシゴカイ

Other scientific names: Eupomatus elegans, Hydroides abbreviata, Hydroides incrustans, Hydroides pacificus, Hydroides spinalateralis, Protohydroides elegans, Serpula (Hydroides) elegans, Serpula vermicalluris, Serpula vermucularis, Vermilia abbreviata

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).
1,742 open-data records from 1883 to 2025.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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