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Class ENTEROPNEUSTA
Saccoglossus kowalevskii - Acorn Worm
Morphology: Enteropneust with an elongate ciliated proboscis. About 150mm in size with proboscis, collar, and trunk.
Distribution: The shallow intertidal mudflats of the eastern United States and Europe. Found on Grice Beach
Habitat: Found on low energy, silt sand tidal flats.
Life History: Feeds on particulate organic matter by mucusciliary feeding at the sand surface from its helical burrow. Separate sexes with external fertilization.
Reference: MarineSpecies.org
Balanoglossus aurantiacus - Acorn Worm
Morphology: Reaches 3 feet in length. Trunk is fragile and often breaks during collection. Can be detected on tidal flat by the presence of large sandy fecal casts. Genital wings protrude from the trunk and contain orange gonads in males, and gray gonads in females. Distribution: West north Atlantic Habitat: Protected sand and mudflats Life History: Burrowing deposit feeder that forms U-shaped burrows in the sand. Tunnels mouth into head end of the burrow to swallow sediment. Water is passed through the burrow on the head end for gas exchange, the other end produces the fecal casts. Reference: Seashore Animals of the Southeast
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