Pelagic clam worm

Nereis pelagica

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–120 m
Water temperature-1–27 °C
Best monthsJune, August, and September
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Citron, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 73 records
February: 61 records
March: 71 records
April: 100 records
May: 188 records
June: 319 records
July: 234 records
August: 296 records
September: 349 records
October: 103 records
November: 65 records
December: 50 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–120 m · Deepest record: 630.6 m

0–10 m: 201 records
10–20 m: 143 records
20–30 m: 96 records
30–40 m: 46 records
40–50 m: 33 records
50–60 m: 39 records
60–70 m: 33 records
70–80 m: 23 records
80–90 m: 17 records
90–100 m: 10 records
100–110 m: 8 records
110+ m: 76 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–27 °C

-2–0 °C: 5 records
0–2 °C: 9 records
2–4 °C: 10 records
4–6 °C: 8 records
6–8 °C: 39 records
8–10 °C: 108 records
10–12 °C: 269 records
12–14 °C: 119 records
14–16 °C: 7 records
16–18 °C: 6 records
18–20 °C: 20 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 18 records
24–26 °C: 31 records
26–28 °C: 25 records

Names and classification

English: Pelagic clam worm, Slender ragworm, pelagic clam worm, Pelagic Clam Worm, slender ragworm, Slender Ragworm

Names in 2 more languages

German: brauner Seeringelwurm, Gemeiner Seeringelwurm, Schwimmender Seeringelwurm
Japanese: フツウゴカイ

Other scientific names: Heteronereis arctica, Heteronereis assimilis, Heteronereis grandifolia, Heteronereis migratoria, Nereilepas fusca, Nereis (Heteronereis) arctica, Nereis (Heteronereis) assimilis, Nereis (Heteronereis) grandifolia, Nereis (Lycoris) pelagica, Nereis (Nereis) pelagica, Nereis bowerbanckii, Nereis delagica, Nereis denticulata, Nereis ferruginea, Nereis fimbriata, Nereis fulgens, Nereis grandifolia, Nereis renalis, Nereis reynaudi, Nereis subulicola, Nereis verrucosa

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.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
3,920 open-data records from 1868 to 2025.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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