Acorn+Worm

﻿Acorn Worm - //Balanoglossus carnosus// **__﻿Phylum__**: Hemichordata **__Class__**: Enteropneusta

__**Location**__: Indo-West Pacific Ocean, Great Barrier Reef

**__Size__**: Usually 9 - 45 cm long, but some have reached over 2m long.

**__Habitat__**: Intertidal and shallow marine areas, but occasionally in deeper water, including deep abyssal plains.

**__Living__ __Requirements__**: They need sand or mud to survive because they eat the sand/mud and also go through it to find small organisms and organic matter.

**__Life__ __Cycle__**: Acorn worms can reproduce asexually and sexually. The female will lay them once they are fertilized, and then they are either larva or they come out as worms.

**__Interesting__ __Facts__**: They use gills like fish to breathe. Their heart functions as their kidney too. There are about 70 different species of acorn worms. This genus, Balanoglossus, is also known as a tongue worm.

 

Zookeeper: Erin Holbert Content, Images, and Video References: Content: [] Images: [] Video: []