Description: Distinctive crown of white, orange or green radioles with ‘white’ tips or tips that are non-differentiated in colour, which are joined by a web until the triangular tips. Worm is up to 60 mm long, with 17-32 pairs of radioles, and lives buried in the sediment in a soft gelatinous tube.

Habitat: Soft sediments down to 30 m or more.

Distribution: Some confusion over true distribution as this species has been recorded as Myxicola infundibulum until relatively recently (it was only described in 2023).

Similar Species: Historically confused with Myxicola infundibulum and recorded as a morph of this species. Myxicola infundibulum has black tips to the radioles. There may be another species of Myxicola present in Britain and Ireland – pink or red with white tips which is not confirmed to be either of the species mentioned above.

Key Identification Features:

• Crown of white orange or green radioles webbed for most of length.
• Tips of radioles free and are not differentiated in colour.

iNaturalist: Myxicola polychroma at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Myxicola polychroma at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Myxicola polychroma Darbyshire, 2023. AphiaID: 1717181.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Annelida; Polychaeta; Sedentaria; Canalipalpata; Sabellida; Sabellidae; Myxicolinae; Myxicolini; Myxicola