Tubeworm

Owenia fusiformis

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–138 m
Water temperature-1–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and May
How commonCommon

All species

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 1,844 records
February: 631 records
March: 1,815 records
April: 1,760 records
May: 2,555 records
June: 1,676 records
July: 1,427 records
August: 1,171 records
September: 1,436 records
October: 816 records
November: 606 records
December: 163 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–138 m · Deepest record: 1,733 m

0–10 m: 2,724 records
10–20 m: 1,067 records
20–30 m: 1,165 records
30–40 m: 1,022 records
40–50 m: 605 records
50–60 m: 372 records
60–70 m: 1,173 records
70–80 m: 1,161 records
80–90 m: 835 records
90–100 m: 807 records
100–110 m: 1,044 records
110+ m: 4,848 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–29 °C

-2–0 °C: 2 records
0–2 °C: 2 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 3 records
6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 8 records
10–12 °C: 561 records
12–14 °C: 217 records
14–16 °C: 5 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 9 records
24–26 °C: 20 records
26–28 °C: 7 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Tubeworm, tubeworm

Names in 3 more languages

German: spindelförmige Owenie
French: Owenia fusiforme
Japanese: チマキゴカイ

Other scientific names: Ammochares aedificator, Ammochares occidentalis, Ammochares orientalis, Ammochares ottonis, Ammochares tenuis, Ops digitata, Owenia assimilator, Owenia brachycera, Owenia filiformis

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).
45,331 open-data records from 1841 to 2025.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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