Establishment of the Caribbean serpulid tubeworm Hydroides sanctaecrucis Krøyer [in] Mörch, 1863, in northern Australia

The serpulid tubeworm Hydroides sanctaecrucis is recorded from tropical northern Australia for the first time. This species is native to the Caribbean, where it is common in coastal lagoons, and has not previously been reliably recorded from the western Pacific. The species was identified after heavy and unusual serpulid fouling was noted on vessel hulls in Cairns, north Queensland, and hull fouling is considered the most probable vector for its translocation to the western Pacific. In northern Australia, H. sanctaecrucis displays similar traits to other fouling and now widely dispersed fouling serpulids such as Hydroides elegans, H. ezoensis and Ficopomatus enigmaticus.