Christmas tree worms are widely distributed throughout the world's tropical oceans. They have been known to occur from the Caribbean to the Indo-Pacific.
Spirobranchus giganteus is commonly found embedded in entire heads of massive corals, such as stony corals like Poritesand brain corals. Like members of its family, it can secrete a calcareous tube around its body. This tube serves as the worm's home and protection. S. giganteus usually bores a hole into an existing head of living coral before secreting its tube, thereby increasing its level of protection.
As sedentary inhabitants of coral reefs, Christmas tree worms feed primarily by filter feeding. They use their brightly colored radioles to filter microorganisms from the water, which are then deposited straight into the worm's digestive tract.
Few organisms are known to feed on tube-borne polychaetes and S. giganteus is no exception.
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