Lamarck, 1818
Young larvae with still undeveloped paleae live in the plankton; length 500-600 µm. Larvae of about 700 µm with paleae, three antenna, two eyes and three pairs tentaculous cirri. At this stage, the larva develops a tube of rhomboidal plates. Later, at the widest end of the larval tube the adult tube is constructed with sand grains, and the larval tube is lost. At about this time the larva settles for a benthic life.
Three species of Pectinaria are known from the North Sea:
Pectinaria koreni
Pectinaria belgica
Pectinaria auricoma