external characteristic of the mound around the entrance of the burrow, and their burrows tend to be very deep and contain chambers that are filled with seagrasses and other sea debris. Suspension feeder burrows tend to be in the Y or U shapes, and also lack seagrasses and debris within them in contrast to the drift catchers; furthermore, the sediment within the lower parts of these burrows can also serve as food for the suspension feeders. The feeding mode affects the burrow, because Axiidea consume amounts of sediment, and the sediment that is rejected makes up parts of the burrow. The seagrasses consumed by the Axiidea are therefore present in the burrows and provide a way to classify the species. The burrows created by detritophage species of Axiidea are more likely to change over the life of the organism than the burrows of filter feeders because detritophage species of Axiidea can build new passages and chambers over the course of their feeding. Each burrow is typically inhabited by one organism, however, certain species of Axiidea live in pairs. Distribution and ecology Axiidea typically live in marine environments with soft-bottom sediments. Axiidea are found in most oceans and seas, except for high latitude polar seas. Distribution shows a clear gradient based on latitude, with low species numbers at higher latitudes and higher species numbers in low latitudes. Therefore, Axiidea are most diverse in temperate to tropical regions. Within the intertidal regions, Axiidea can be used as fishing bait or even for human consumption. Axiidea rarely range into the deep sea with depths more than , instead with 95% of species preferring the shallow water of intertidal or subtidal (less than ) areas. References Thalassinidea Arthropod infraorders