Category:Serpula

Ser"pu*la, n.; pl. Serpulæ, e. Serpulas. Etym: [l., a little snake. See serpent.] (zoöl.)

Defn: any one of numerous species of tubicolous annelids of the genus Serpula and allied genera of the family serpulidæ. They secrete a Calcareous tube, which is usually irregularly contorted, but is Sometimes spirally coiled. The worm has a wreath of plumelike and Often bright-colored gills around its head, and usually an operculum To close the aperture of its tube when it retracts.