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DORIS recommends our site’s innovative, playful and interactive approach for taking your first steps in underwater biology.
DORIS is the reference website for underwater biology. It aims to record, illustrate and describe as many common and rare species as possible that can be seen while diving or along the shore in mainland and overseas French waters.
In Dive.Explo360: Mediterranean · Northeast Atlantic · Atlantic Ocean · Indian Ocean · Caribbean Sea
Beneath an overhang or on a rocky wall, the Smooth fanworm draws the eye with its elegant white crown. This double fan captures plankton and provides respiratory exchange. As a diver approaches, it disappears into its calcareous tube in a fraction of a second.
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WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
This species lives in a calcareous tube that it makes itself and which can reach several centimetres. A double-fan-shaped crown, often white, emerges from its end and consists of many thin filaments. These structures provide both breathing and food capture. Unlike some related worms, it has no small lid to close its tube.
WHERE DOES IT LIVE?
It lives attached to hard supports such as rocks, coralligenous seabeds or other submerged structures. It occurs from shallow water to deeper areas, sometimes beyond one hundred metres.
WHAT DOES IT EAT?
It feeds by filtering water: its tentacles capture very small organic particles and plankton, which it then directs towards its mouth.
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After recognising a marine species, watch it in its environment in the diving videos. Articles and learning paths help you understand its habitat and its relationships with other organisms; games help you remember your discoveries.
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