#4998 · 🪼 jellyfish, starfish, worms & co

Honeycomb Worm

🇳🇱 Honingraat-zandkokerworm ·Sabellaria alveolata

🪼 Jellyfish, starfish, worms & co 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Júlio Reis · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Auguste Le Roux · CC BY 4.0
3. Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France:© Thomas Dreux · CC BY 4.0
4. 4FPH+5H, Cardigan SA43 2JL, UK:© bumblebee133 · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. Vagos, Aveiro, Portugal:© Duarte Frade · CC BY 4.0
6. Fanore, Clare, Ireland:© Jamie O'Neill · CC BY 4.0
7. Flaggy Shore, Newquay, Clare, Ireland:© Jamie O'Neill · CC BY 4.0
8. France:© Joplo · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. 4415 Perosinho, Portugal:© Júlio Reis · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Vila do Conde, Portugal:© Inês Morais Vilaça · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Sabellaria alveolata , (also known as the honeycomb worm ), is a reef-forming polychaete. It is distributed around the Mediterranean Sea, and from the north Atlantic Ocean to south Morocco. It is also found in the British Isles at its northern limit in the northeast Atlantic. Its common name is derived from the honeycomb-like pattern it creates when building its tube reefs.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 2,002iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
2,002 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.

fact sheet

English: Honeycomb Worm
Nederlands: Honingraat-zandkokerworm
scientific name: Sabellaria alveolata
class: Polychaeta
family: Sabellariidae
sightings in NL: 0
sightings in Europe: 1,619
sightings worldwide: 2,002
GBIF records in NL: 32
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 338082, Wikidata Q1147658, GBIF 5199252, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.