The Sabellids are commonly known as "fanworms" or "feather duster" worms due to a colorful appearance of a maroon or red-colored tentacular branchial crown. They are indirect deposit-feeders. They have no proboscis. While feeding they spread out their branchial crowns to trap suspended particles and to sweep with their long mobile palps picking up deposited material (filter-feeding). Only suitable sized particles are ingested while others are rejected at the mouth. The more primitive sabellids members making temporary mucus tubes and creep around actively. They move either forward or backwards and they have 2 pairs of eyes, one at the head and the other at the pygidium. Typical ones are tubiculous, relying entirely on suspended food particles and living in tough tubes lined with muco-protein and covered with mud, sand and general debris. The large ones never leave their tubes and are associated with shallow water but smaller ones are able to move around. and are common in deep seas. Species found in Singapore include:

• Hysicomus phaeotaenia
• Potamilla leptochaeta
• Pseudopotamilla reniformis
• Sabellastarte indica