The sediment passes through the gut where the nutritive parts are digested and absorbed, and the residue is ejected through the anus as faecal pellets.

The faecal pellets get ingested during further feeding activities and it is probable that rapidly growing bacteria and other micro-organisms form part of the diet.

The proboscis can extend to a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and, feeding from the two burrow apertures, each worm can sweep an area of sediment of 0.25 square metres (2.7 sq ft).

After several developmental stages over a period of about six months, the larvae settle on the seabed and undergo metamorphosis into juvenile spoon worms.

These include the small crab Pinnixa schmitti, the bivalve mollusc Mysella tumida and the polychaete worm Hesperonoe laevis.

[3] The spoon worm is preyed on by bottom feeding fish such as flounders, Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) and bat rays (Myliobatis californicus).

[5] The burrowing and feeding activities of these worms redistributed and aerated the sediment and promoted a more diverse community of fauna than would otherwise have existed in this heavily polluted area.