SUMMARY: The genus Hermodice Kinberg, 1857 was established with the species Aphrodita carunculata Pallas, 1766, based on the shape and development of the caruncle. Several species were later described within the genus; however, it is currently regarded as monotypical, with H. carunculata as a widespread species. An evaluation of available type and nontype specimens together with observations of living specimens has allowed the diagnostic features to be refined, and two new features have been included: the number of branchial filaments and the anal lobe. Consequently, in this study we have been able to confirm the differences between Hermodice and Pherecardia Horst, 1886. The type species, H. carunculata, has been redescribed, and H. nigrolineata Baird, 1870 has been re-established. Further, H. formosa (Quatrefages, 1866) has been transferred to Pherecardia, together with H. pennata Treadwell, 1906 and H. distincta Hoagland, 1920.

To the memory of William Ronald Sendall Sternaspid polychaetes are common and often abundant in soft bottoms in the world oceans. Some authors suggest that only one species should be recognized, whereas others regard a few species as widely distributed in many seas and variable depths from the low intertidal to about 4400 m. There are some problems with species delineation and the distinctive ventro-caudal shield has been disregarded or barely used for identifying species. In order to clarify these issues, the ventral shield is evaluated in specimens from the same locality and its diagnostic potential is confirmed. On this basis, a revision of Sternaspis Otto, 1821 (Polychaeta: Sternaspidae) is presented based upon type materials, or material collected from type localities. The sternaspid body, introvert hooks and shield show three distinct patterns, two genera have seven abdominal segments and tapered introvert hooks, and one genus has eight abdominal segments and spatulate introvert hooks. The ventro-caudal shield has three different patterns: stiff with ribs, and sometimes concentric lines, stiff with feebly-defined ribs but no concentric lines, and soft with firmly adhered sediment particles. Sternaspis is restricted to include species with seven abdominal segments, falcate introvert hooks, and stiff shields, often exhibiting radial ribs, concentric lines or both. Sternaspis includes, besides the type species, Sternaspis thalassemoides Otto, 1821 from the Mediterranean Sea, Sternaspis affinis Stimpson, 1864 from the Northeastern Pacific, Sternaspis africana Augener, 1918, stat. n. from Western Africa, Sternaspis andamanensis sp. n. from the Andaman Sea, Sternaspis costata von Marenzeller, 1879 from Japan, Sternaspis fossor Stimpson, 1853 from the Northwestern Atlantic, Sternaspis islandica Malmgren, 1867 from Iceland, Sternaspis maior Chamberlin, 1919 from the Gulf of California, Sternaspis princeps Selenka, 1885 from New Zealand, Sternaspis rietschi Caullery, 1944 from abyssal depths around Indonesia, Sternaspis scutata (Ranzani, 1817) from the Mediterranean Sea, Sternaspis spinosa Sluiter, 1882 from Indonesia, and Sternaspis thorsoni sp. n. from the Iranian Gulf. Two genera are newly proposed to incorporate the remaining species: Caulleryaspis and Petersenaspis. Caulleryaspis gen. n. is defined by the presence of falcate introvert hooks, seven abdominal segments, and soft shields with sediment particles firmly adhered on them; it includes two species: Caulleryaspis gudmundssoni sp. n. from Iceland and Caulleryaspis laevis (Caullery, 1944) comb. n. from Indonesia. Petersenaspis gen. n. is defined by the presence of spatulate introvert hooks, eight abdominal segments, and stiff shields with poorly defined ribs but no concentric line; it includes Petersenaspis capillata (Nonato, 1966) from Brazil and Petersenaspis palpallatoci sp. n. from the Philippines. Neotypes are proposed for eight species: Sternaspis thalassemoides, Sternaspis affinis, Sternaspis africana, Sternaspis costata, Sternaspis fossor, Sternaspi...

Cirratuliformia includes Acrocirridae, Cirratulidae, Ctenodrilidae, Flabelligeridae, Flotidae and Sternaspidae. The phylogenetic affinities have not been settled due to a limited availability of type or non-type material and the relationship between acrocirrids and flabelligerids have been problematical. In our study, the type material of all type species for all flabelligerid, and most acrocirrid genera have been studied and the morphological features have been used in a phylogenetic analysis. The results indicate that Acrocirridae, Ctenodrilidae, Fauveliopsidae, Flabelligeridae and Flotidae are monophyletic and that Sternaspidae falls within Cirratulidae; however, the latter conclusion might be reversed through increased taxon-sampling. The flabelligerid genera Brada, Flabelligera, Pherusa and Stylarioides each consists of several monophyletic groups and may be split. Conversely, Bradiella includes Diversibranchius, and the pelagic Buskiella includes Flota. The generic affinities of Poeobius remain uncertain, collecting better materials may resolve this issue.

Five sternaspid species were found near Vietnam shores: Sternaspis britayevi sp. nov., S. costata von Marenzeller, 1879, S. nana sp. nov., S. papillosa sp. nov., and S. spinosa Sluiter 1882. Sternaspis britayevi is described from the shallow water in Vietnam inhabiting soft bottoms; it resembles S. spinosa described from Java and S. thorsoni Sendall & Salazar-Vallejo, 2013 described from the Persian Gulf, but differs in having a medially projected and markedly ribbed fan of the ventro-caudal shield and nearly parallel, distally widened and rounded branchial plates. Sternaspis nana sp. nov. is described from Nha Trang Bay; it differs from the other known species by the combination of the following characters: small size, evenly distributed micropapillae and regular rows of long cirriform papillae; posterior chaetal fascicles consisting of single thick chaeta; a ventral shield with smooth integument, without ribs and usually without concentric lines. Sternaspis papillosa sp. nov. is also described from Nha Trang Bay; it resembles S. africana Augener, 1918 and S. andamanensis Sendall & Salazar-Vallejo, 2013 by having similar ventro-caudal shields but differs by body papillation and details of the ventro-caudal shield. Based upon observations of different species some morphological features are clarified: 1) notochaetae are present in introvert chaetigers as delicate capillaries; 2) peg-chaetae are really a dense group of more than 100 thin individual chaetae, embedded in a fibrous matrix, and covered by a common sheath; 3) the pharynx is an eversible, lobed, axial non-muscular proboscis with a ciliated surface; 4) the body cavity is divided by three septa in the anterior body region, and there are no other septa; and 5) an eversible anal peduncle is confirmed, as has been shown by early taxonomists.

No abstract

Some species of Eunice might reach giant size, often being longer than 2m, and they are known from tropical and temperate seas. Despite their large size and recent internet notoriety, there remain some taxonomic problems in large-sized eunicids, especially since original descriptions were brief and type materials are often missing. As a mean to encourage the solution of this situation, we review the historical progress in the taxonomy of the group, including some comments on generic and specific delineation, and recommend some critical steps to solve the current confusion. These ideally would include collecting in type localities, evaluate ontogenetic morphological changes, and generate some molecular analysis to complement the morphological approach. Rev.

The South China and Philippine Seas are among the most diverse regions in the Western Pacific. Although there are several local polychaete checklists available, there is none comprising the whole of this region. Presented herein is a comprehensive list of the original names of all polychaete species described from the region. The list contains 1037 species, 345 genera and 60 families; the type locality, type depository, and information regarding synonymy are presented for each species.

No abstract