serpulas

Again the serpulas had a burglar-alarm system but it was much more sensitive than the clams '; the net handle would get within six inches of the whirpool of shimmering petals, and they would suddenly all point skywards, bunch together, and dive head-first down the stalk, so that all that was left was a series of what looked like bits of miniature hosepipe stuck in the sand.

My Family and Other Animals Durrell, Gerald, 1925- 1956

Interspersed with the clams were the serpulas, beautiful feathery petals, forever moving round and round, perched on the end of a long, thick, greyish tube.

My Family and Other Animals Durrell, Gerald, 1925- 1956

Another bowl stood near, containing some feathery serpulas; and the weeds were heaped on the locker of the window behind him, and on the back of the chair which supported his lame foot.

Dynevor Terrace: or, the clue of life — Volume 1 Charlotte Mary Yonge 1862