Notomastus tenuis

Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Order Capitellida
Family Capitellidae
Genus Notomastus
Species tenuis

Description: Up to 30 cm long and 1 mm wide; long, slender body is dark red; small bristly parapodia on each side of most segments; lacks tentacles on head; prostomium has two black eyespots.

Habitat: Found in mud or muddy sand.

Natural History: They feed on detritus and decaying plant and animal matter by ingesting the sediment. They may be so plentiful that a shovel full of mud may contain a hundred worms, although most will be broken because of their delicate nature.