Christmas Tree Worms or Spirobranchus giganteus make their homes by burrowing into ocean coral.
This means they are classified as polychaetes, or marine burrowing, segmented worms.
They get their unique name from the two brightly colored crowns that protrude from their tube-like bodies — these whirling, spiked crowns closely resemble Christmas fir trees. These crowns are made up of hair-like appendages called radioles, which are used for respiration and to catch phytoplankton.
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