Serpula

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Serpula \Ser"pu*la\, n.; pl. {Serpulae}, E. {Serpulas}. [L., a
     little snake. See {Serpent}.] (Zool.)
     Any one of numerous species of tubicolous annelids of the
     genus {Serpula} and allied genera of the family {Serpulidae}.
     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.
     [1913 Webster] Serpulian