Flabelligeridae is a family of polychaete worms, known as bristle-cage worms, notable for their cephalic cage: long slender chaetae forming a fan-like arrangement surrounding the eversible (able to be turned inside-out) head.[1][2] Unlike many polychaetes, they also have large, pigmented, complex eyes.[3][4]
These worms live under stones and are known to burrow into sand.[5] They have a cosmopolitan distribution and live in a variety of marine habitats, from the deep sea to shallow coastal regions.[6]
The first species was Amphridite plumosa, described from Norway. Flabelligerids were placed in various similar polychaete families until Saint-Joseph erected the family (under the name Flabelligeriens) in 1894.[5][7]
Mazopherusa is a possible fossil example from the Carboniferous; other fossil material is only dubiously assigned to the family.[1]
Flabelligeridae is a family of polychaete worms, known as bristle-cage worms, notable for their cephalic cage: long slender chaetae forming a fan-like arrangement surrounding the eversible (able to be turned inside-out) head. Unlike many polychaetes, they also have large, pigmented, complex eyes.
