''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of peanut worms. It is the only family in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class

Phascolosomatidea Phascolosomatidea is a subclass of the class Sipuncula, the peanut worm The Sipuncula or Sipunculida (common names sipunculid worms or peanut worms) is a class containing about 162 species of unsegmented marine annelid worms. The name ''S ...

.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migotto, A.E. (1982): O Filo Sipuncula. Concelho Nacional de Desemvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico CNPq Brasilia. 43p.Cutler, Edward B. & Gibbs, Peter E. (1985): A Phylogenetic analysis of higher taxa in the Phylum Sipuncula. Systematic Zoology 34(2):162-173.Cutler, Edward B. & Cutler, Norma J (1989): A revision of the genus Aspidosiphon (Sipuncula: Aspidosiphonidaea). Proceedings of Biological Society of Washington 102(4):826-86
Bistor
/ref>Cutler, Edward B. (1994): The Sipuncula: their systematic, biology and evolution. 406p
Google Books
/ref>

Description

The family Aspidosiphonidae is characterized by an oval disk with short tentacles, arranged in a crescent-shape made of an enclosed

nuchal organ The nuchal organ is a ciliated pit or groove present at the posterior end of the prostomium of annelid worms, some cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, o ...

. It has a canal of sacs in the coelom, lying in a continuous band. The anal and caudal shield (at the anterior end) are both made up, not of chitin, but of a horny protein. It is of note that most, but not all, of the Aspidosiphonidae family has a caudal shield. The family also has two

nephridia The nephridium (plural ''nephridia'') is an invertebrate organ, found in pairs and performing a function similar to the vertebrate kidneys (which originated from the chordate nephridia). Nephridia remove metabolic wastes from an animal's body. Neph ...

Species

Aspidosiphon

* ''

Aspidosiphon albus ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migot ...

'' Murina, 1967 (1973): Sipuncula of the Western North Atlantic. ''Bulletin of American Museum of Natural History'' 152(3)103-201. New York. * ''

Aspidosiphon coyi ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migot ...

'' de Quatrefages, 1865 * ''

Aspidosiphon elegans ''Aspidosiphon elegans'' is a species of unsegmented benthic marine worm in the phylum Sipuncula, the peanut worms. It is a bioeroding species and burrows into limestone rocks, stones and corals. It occurs in the western Indo-Pacific region, the ...

'' (Chamisso and Eysenhardt, 1821) * ''

Aspidosiphon exiguus ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migot ...

'' Edmonds 1974 * ''

Aspidosiphon fischeri ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migot ...

'' Broeke, A. ten, 1925 * '' Aspidosiphon gosnoldi'' Cutler, E., 1981 * ''

Aspidosiphon gracilis ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. (1977): British sipunculans. Academic Press. London. 35p. Ditadi, A.S.F. & Migot ...

'' (Baird, 1868) * '' Aspidosiphon laevis'' de Quatrefages, 1865 * '' Aspidosiphon mexicanus'' Murina, 1967 * '' Aspidosiphon misakiensis'' Ikeda 1904 * '' Aspidosiphon muelleri'' Diesing 1851 * '' Aspidosiphon parvulus'' Gerould, 1913 * '' Aspidosiphon planoscutatus'' Murina, 1968 * '' Aspidosiphon spiralis'' Sluiter, 1902 * '' Aspidosiphon steenstrupii'' Diesing, 1859 * '' Aspidosiphon tenuis'' Sluiter, 1886 * '' Aspidosiphon thomassini'' Cutler and Cutler, 1979 * '' Aspidosiphon venabulum'' Selenka & Bulow, 1883 * '' Aspidosiphon zinni'' Cutler, 1969

Cloeosiphon

* ''

Cloeosiphon aspergillus ''Cloeosiphon'' is a genus of worms belonging to the family Aspidosiphonidae. The species of this genus are found in Indian and Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends f ...

'' (de Quatrefages, 1865)

Lithacrosiphon

* ''

Lithacrosiphon cristatus ''Lithacrosiphon'' is a genus of worms belonging to the family Aspidosiphonidae ''Aspidosiphonidae'' is a family of peanut worms. It is the only family in the monotypic order Aspidosiphonida, which is in the class Phascolosomatidea.Gibbs, P.E. ...

'' (Sluiter, 1902) * ''

Lithacrosiphon maldivensis ''Lithacrosiphon'' is a genus of worms belonging to the family Aspidosiphonidae. The species of this genus are found in all world oceans. Species: *''Lithacrosiphon cristatus'' **Subsp. ''L.'' c. cristatus **Subsp. ''L.'' c. lakshadweepensis ...

'' Shipley 1902

References

External links

Sipuncula LifeDesk: Aspidosiphonidae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2341972 Sipunculans