Eunice viridis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	ANNELIDA	POLYCHAETA	EUNICIDA	EUNICIDAE

Scientific Name:

Eunice viridis

Species Authority:

Gray, 1840

Common Name/s:

English

–

Palolo Worm, Samoan Palolo Worm

Synonym/s:

Palola viridis (Gray, 1840)

Taxonomic Notes:

Treated by some authors under the genus Palola. May even be a junior synonym of Palola siciliensis (Grube, 1840), in which case it may have a much wider distribution and could probably be listed as Least Concern. See: Fauchald, K. 1992. Review of the types of Palola (Eunicidae: Polychaeta) Journal of Natural History 26: 1177-1225.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Data Deficient ver 2.3

Year Published:

1996

Annotations:

Needs updating

Assessor/s:

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Reviewer/s:

Contributor/s:

History:

1994	–	Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994)
1990	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1986	–	Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Found in the South Pacific. The list of countries of occurrence may not be complete.
Countries:	Native: American Samoa (American Samoa); Fiji; Indonesia (Lesser Sunda Is.); Samoa
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – western central
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The worm lives in the shallow waters in the coral reefs. During its main breeding season, which occurs on the second or third day after the third quarter of the moon in October or November, the worms produce segments which are engorged with sperm or eggs. These segments break off at sunrise, rise to the surface, and release their gametes into the sea. The local villagers and fishermen collect these segments in large quantities as it is a popular delicacy. The gelatinous mass of worms is baked or fried and then eaten.
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

The worm lives in the shallow waters in the coral reefs. During its main breeding season, which occurs on the second or third day after the third quarter of the moon in October or November, the worms produce segments which are engorged with sperm or eggs. These segments break off at sunrise, rise to the surface, and release their gametes into the sea. The local villagers and fishermen collect these segments in large quantities as it is a popular delicacy. The gelatinous mass of worms is baked or fried and then eaten.

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Over-harvesting appears to have resulted in local extinction e.g., in northwestern Upolu (Samoilys and Carlos 1990).

Major Threat(s):

Over-harvesting appears to have resulted in local extinction e.g., in northwestern Upolu (Samoilys and Carlos 1990).

Citation:	World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Eunice viridis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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