(Thelepus), any of a genus of tube-dwelling segmented worms of the class Polychaeta (phylum Annelida). They are sedentary forms that remain fixed to the sea bottom except as larvae. T. cincinnatus, 5 to 10 centimetres (about 2 to 4 inches) long and pale red, has lacelike markings on the backside and gills with many unbranched filaments in two separate rows. It remains attached to its underground tube along its entire length.