Invertebrates
Lugworm
Arenicola marina · also called blow lug
At low tide on a muddy-sandy flat, coiled casts and neat dimples mark the buried U-shaped burrows of thousands of lugworms.
Overview
The lugworm, Arenicola marina, is an abundant burrowing worm of sandy and muddy tidal flats around north-western Europe. Its sand-swallowing lifestyle, red gills, and coiled casts make it a keystone species of the tidal shore and a favourite bait of anglers.
A worm that moves the beach
By swallowing sand and expelling it as casts, a bed of lugworms turns over huge amounts of sediment and mixes oxygen and food into the sand.
Status
Not Evaluated, but abundant on tidal flats.
Lugworm: common questions
What are the coils on the beach?
They are casts of sand left by a lugworm at one end of its U-shaped burrow, where it expels the sand it has swallowed.
What does a lugworm eat?
It swallows sand and mud and digests the bacteria, algae, and organic matter it contains.
Why is it used as bait?
Its plump body is attractive to fish, so it is dug in large numbers for anglers.
Where is the lugworm found?
It lives on sandy and muddy tidal flats of the north-eastern Atlantic, the North Sea, and the Baltic.