Arenicola
|A-re-ni-co-la|
/ˌærəˈnɪkələ/
sand-dweller (lugworm)
Etymology
'Arenicola' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'arenicola', where 'arena' meant 'sand' and '-cola' meant 'inhabitant'.
'Arenicola' comes from Medieval Latin usage of 'arenicola' and was adopted into scientific Latin; it entered modern biological taxonomy unchanged as the genus name 'Arenicola'.
Initially, it meant 'sand-dweller', and over time this meaning remained but became specialized to refer to a genus of sand-dwelling polychaete worms.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a genus of marine polychaete worms (family Arenicolidae), commonly known as lugworms, that live in sandy intertidal and subtidal sediments.
Arenicola burrows deeply into the sand and forms characteristic castings on the beach.
Synonyms
Noun 2
any species belonging to that genus, especially Arenicola marina, the common lugworm often used as bait and studied in ecological research.
Researchers collected several Arenicola specimens, mainly Arenicola marina, from the intertidal flats.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/16 14:04