European Fan Worm

The European fan worm (Sabella spallanzanii) has been found in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. It was first found in South Australia in 1985 at Outer Harbour.

Habitat

  • Temperate waters
  • Prefers sheltered shallow subtidal areas
  • Also found in exposed waters but only where depth provides some protection (up to 30 metres)
  • Usually attaches to hard substrates like shells, pylons, wrecks and rocks but can also be found in sand

A European Fan Worm

Description

  • Flexible semi-transparent tube up to 50 cm long and 1 cm wide
  • Feather-like projections (radioles) extend from the tube, up to 20 cm long
  • Forms large meadows obscuring the seafloor
  • Crown of the radioles varies in colour from orange to white to red-brown
  • Tube outer layer often covered in greyish silt, mud and other small marine organisms
  • Crown with two different size lobes of radioles - one lobe has more radioles that the other and forms a spiral with one of five whorls, the other lobe forms a semicircle

You can help

Early detection and monitoring by the community are vital tools in controlling the spread and minimising the impact of marine pests.

If you know what species are normally present in all marine habitats you can learn to recognise any unusual species or species showing an abnormal change in abundance. 

You might not be able to identify a particular organism as a new invading species based on its shape or colour, but you might notice that this new organism has rapidly overgrown rocks and shoreline that historically had been a diverse community of other types of marine life.


What to do if you find an introduced species

  • Record the location accurately (use Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates if possible)
  • Record the depth and type of bottom (eg sandy, rocky and so on)
  • Record how it was found, for example tangled in fishing tackle or anchor, drifting or sighted attached to a substrate
  • Collect a sample (except in an aquatic reserve) and store it in a plastic bag
  • Don’t throw any suspicious animal or weed back in the water
  • Report all sightings of suspected marine pests to the 24 hour FISHWATCH hotline on 1800 065 522