''Nereis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made ...

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

s in the family

Nereididae Nereididae (formerly spelled Nereidae) are a family of polychaete worms. It contains about 500 – mostly marine – species grouped into 42 genera. They may be commonly called ragworms or clam worms. Characteristics The prostomium of ...

. It comprises many species, most of which are

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

. ''Nereis'' possess

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

and

parapodia In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed ...

for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found on the parapodia. Acicular setae provide support. Locomotor setae are for crawling, and are the bristles that are visible on the exterior of the Polychaeta. They are cylindrical in shape, found not only in sandy areas, and they are adapted to burrow. They often cling to seagrass (posidonia) or other grass on rocks and sometimes gather in large groups. Nereis worms are commonly known as rag worms or clam worms. The body is long, slender, and dorso-ventrally flattened, reaching a length of 5-30 cm. The head consists of two parts: a roughly triangular anterior lobe—the prostomium—and a posterior ring-like portion—the peristomium. The latter bears four pairs of tentacular cirri, dorsally two pairs of eyes, and ventrally a pair of short two-jointed palps.

Etymology

The scientific Latin genus name ''Nereis'' derives from the Ancient Greek Νηρηΐς : Nērēís (stem Νηρηΐδ- : Nērēid), a sea nymph.

Ecology

''Nereis'' are

osmoconformer Osmoconformers are marine organisms that maintain an internal environment which is isotonic to their external environment. This means that the osmotic pressure of the organism's cells is equal to the osmotic pressure of their surrounding environm ...

s. They are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

(individuals are male or female) and they release their

haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respective ...

gametes into the water, a process called ''spawning''. Moreover, upon fertilization and

mitotic In cell biology, mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division by mitosis gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the total number of chromosomes is maintai ...

divisions of the

zygote A zygote (, ) is a eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individual organism. In multicell ...

, Nereids form a larval stage which is similar to that of

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

– i.e. a

trochophore A trochophore (; also spelled trocophore) is a type of free-swimming planktonic marine larva with several bands of cilia. By moving their cilia rapidly, they make a water eddy, to control their movement, and to bring their food closer, to captur ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

Species

The genus ''Nereis'' contains the following species: *''

Nereis abbreviata ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Holly, 1935 *'' Nereis abyssa'' Imajima, 2009 *'' Nereis abyssicola'' (Horst, 1924) *''

Nereis acustris ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found ...

'' Linnaeus, 1767 *''

Nereis aegyptia ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' (Savigny ''in'' Lamarck, 1818) *''

Nereis aestuarensis ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Knox, 1951 *''

Nereis aibuhitensis ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' (Grube, 1878) *''

Nereis albipes ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Grube, 1873 *''

Nereis allenae ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Pettibone, 1956 *''

Nereis amoyensis ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' (Treadwell, 1936) *''

Nereis angelensis ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Fauchald, 1972 *''

Nereis angusta ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' (Kinberg, 1866) *''

Nereis angusticollis ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Augener, 1913 *''

'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis annularis'' Blainville, 1818 *'' Nereis anoculis'' Hartman, 1960 *'' Nereis anoculopsis'' Fauchald, 1972 *'' Nereis anodonta'' Schmarda, 1861 *'' Nereis antipoda'' Knox, 1960 *'' Nereis apaliae'' Wilson, 1985 *'' Nereis arenaceodonta'' *'' Nereis arroyensis'' Treadwell, 1901 *'' Nereis atlantica'' McIntosh, 1885 *'' Nereis augeneri'' Gravier & Dantan, 1934 *'' Nereis badiotorquata'' (Grube, 1878) *'' Nereis baliensis'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis baolingi'' Leon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2000 *'' Nereis batjanensis'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis bifida'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis bipartita'' (Bobretzky, 1868) *'' Nereis blainvillei'' delle Chiaje, 1828 *'' Nereis broa'' Lana & Sovierzovsky, 1987 *'' Nereis buitendijki'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis caecoides'' Hartman, 1965 *'' Nereis caerulea'' Linnaeus, 1758 *'' Nereis cagliari'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis calamus'' Renier, 1804 *'' Nereis callaona'' (Grube, 1857) *'' Nereis caparti'' Fauvel, 1953 *'' Nereis casoae'' Leon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2001 *'' Nereis castelnaui'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis caudata'' *'' Nereis caudipunctata'' (Grube, 1857) *'' Nereis caymanensis'' Fauchald, 1977 *'' Nereis chlorodes'' Blanchard ''in'' Gay, 1849 *'' Nereis chrysocephala'' Pallas, 1788 *'' Nereis cirrhigera'' Viviani, 1805 *'' Nereis cirriseta'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis cockburnenesis'' Augener, 1913 *'' Nereis cockburnensis'' Augener, 1913 *'' Nereis contorta'' Dalyell, 1853 *'' Nereis corallina'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis cornuta'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis costaricaensis'' Dean, 2001 *'' Nereis coutieri'' Gravier, 1900 *'' Nereis coutieri'' Gravier, 1899 *'' Nereis crassa'' Gmelin ''in'' Linnaeus, 1788 *'' Nereis crocea'' Renier, 1804 *'' Nereis cuprea'' delle Chiaje, 1822 *'' Nereis cuprea'' (Schmarda, 1861) *'' Nereis cylindraria'' *'' Nereis dakarensis'' Fauvel, 1951 *'' Nereis dayana'' Sun & Shen ''in'' Sun, Wu & Shen, 1978 *'' Nereis delagica'' Gmelin ''in'' Linnaeus, 1788 *'' Nereis delicatula'' Blanchard ''in'' Gay, 1849 *'' Nereis delli'' Knox, 1960 *'' Nereis denhamensis'' Augener, 1913 *'' Nereis donghaiensis'' He & Wu, 1988 *'' Nereis dorsolobata'' Hartmann-Schröder, 1965 *'' Nereis edwardsii'' delle Chiaje, 1828 *'' Nereis ehlersiana'' (Grube, 1878) *'' Nereis ehrenbergi'' Grube, 1868 *'' Nereis erythraeensis'' *'' Nereis falcaria'' (Willey, 1905) *'' Nereis falsa'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis fauchaldi'' Leon-Gonzalez & Diaz-Castaneda, 1998 *'' Nereis fauveli'' Gravier & Dantan, 1934 *'' Nereis filicaudata'' Fauvel, 1951 *'' Nereis foliosa'' Schmarda, 1861 *'' Nereis fossae'' Fauchald, 1972 *'' Nereis frontalis'' Bosc, 1802 *'' Nereis fucata'' (Savigny ''in'' Lamarck, 1818) *'' Nereis funchalensis'' (Langerhans, 1880) *'' Nereis fusifera'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis garwoodi'' Gonzalez-Escalante & Salazar-Vallejo, 2003 *'' Nereis gayi'' Blanchard ''in'' Gay, 1849 *'' Nereis ghardaqae'' Hartmann-Schröder, 1960 *'' Nereis gigantea'' Linnaeus, 1767 *'' Nereis gisserana'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis goajirana'' Augener, 1933 *'' Nereis gracilis'' (Hansen, 1878) *'' Nereis granulata'' Day, 1957 *'' Nereis gravieri'' Fauvel, 1900 *'' Nereis gravieri'' Fauvel, 1902 *'' Nereis grayi'' Pettibone, 1956 *'' Nereis grubei'' (Kinberg, 1866) *'' Nereis guangdongensis'' Wu, Sun & Yang, 1981 *'' Nereis heterocirrata'' Treadwell, 1931 *'' Nereis heteromorpha'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis heterophylla'' Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821 *'' Nereis heteropoda'' Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821 *'' Nereis holochaeta'' Intes & Le Loeuff, 1975 *'' Nereis homogompha'' Rullier, 1972 *'' Nereis huanghaiensis'' Wu, Sun & Yang, 1981 *'' Nereis icosiensis'' Gravier & Dantan, 1928 *'' Nereis ignota'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis imajimai'' Leon-Gonzalez & Diaz-Castaneda, 1998 *'' Nereis imbecillis'' Grube, 1840 *'' Nereis imperfecta'' Gravier & Dantan, 1936 *'' Nereis inflata'' Leon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2001 *'' Nereis iris'' Stimpson, 1854 *'' Nereis irrorata'' *'' Nereis izukai'' Okuda, 1939 *'' Nereis jacksoni'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis krebsii'' Grube, 1857 *'' Nereis lamellosa'' Ehlers, 1864 *'' Nereis languida'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis latescens'' Chamberlin, 1919 *'' Nereis leuca'' Chamberlin, 1919 *'' Nereis ligulata'' Hilbig, 1992 *'' Nereis lineata'' delle Chiaje, 1827 *'' Nereis lingulata'' Hilbig, 1992 *'' Nereis lithothamnica'' Annenkova, 1938 *'' Nereis litoralis'' Leach ''in'' Johnston, 1865 *'' Nereis longilingulis'' Monro, 1937 *'' Nereis longior'' Chlebovitsch & Wu, 1962 *'' Nereis longisetis'' McIntosh, 1885 *'' Nereis macropis'' Ehlers, 1920 *'' Nereis maculosa'' Renier, 1804 *'' Nereis madreporae'' *'' Nereis margarita'' Montagu, 1804 *'' Nereis marginata'' Grube, 1857 *'' Nereis mariae'' Holly, 1935 *'' Nereis marioni'' Audouin & Milne-Edwards, 1833 *'' Nereis maroccensis'' Amoureux, 1976 *'' Nereis maxillodentata'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis mediator'' Chamberlin, 1918 *'' Nereis mendocinana'' Chamberlin, 1919 *'' Nereis microcera'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis minima'' Lamarck, 1801 *'' Nereis mirabilis'' Kinberg, 1866 *'' Nereis mollis'' Linnaeus, 1761 *'' Nereis monoceros'' Dalyell, 1853 *'' Nereis monroi'' Reish, 1953 *'' Nereis moroccensis'' Amoureux, 1976 *'' Nereis mortenseni'' Augener, 1923 *'' Nereis multignatha'' Imajima & Hartman, 1964 *'' Nereis myersi'' Holly, 1935 *'' Nereis nancaurica'' Ehlers, 1904 *'' Nereis nanciae'' Day, 1949 *'' Nereis natans'' Hartman, 1936 *'' Nereis neoneanthes'' Hartman, 1948 *'' Nereis neozealanica'' Knox, 1951 *'' Nereis nichollsi'' Kott, 1951 *'' Nereis nigripes'' Ehlers, 1868 *'' Nereis noctiluca'' Linnaeus, 1761 *'' Nereis nouhuysi'' Horst, 1918 *'' Nereis obscura'' Gravier & Dantan, 1934 *'' Nereis ochotica'' Grube, 1850 *'' Nereis ockenii'' delle Chiaje, 1828 *'' Nereis octentaculata'' Montagu, 1804 *'' Nereis oligohalina'' (Rioja, 1946) *'' Nereis onychophora'' Horst, 1918 *'' Nereis otto'' delle Chiaje, 1828 *'' Nereis ovarius'' Read, 1980 *'' Nereis pachychaeta'' Fauvel, 1919 *'' Nereis panamensis'' Fauchald, 1977 *'' Nereis pannosa'' (Grube, 1857) *'' Nereis parabifida'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis paucignatha'' Hartman, 1940 *'' Nereis paulina'' Grube, 1868 *'' Nereis pectinata'' Dalyell, 1853 *''

Nereis pelagica ''Nereis'' is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Nereididae. It comprises many species, most of which are marine. ''Nereis'' possess setae and parapodia for locomotion and gas exchange. They may have two types of setae, which are found o ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 *'' Nereis perivisceralis'' Claparède, 1868 *'' Nereis peroniensis'' Kott, 1951 *'' Nereis persica'' Fauvel, 1911 *'' Nereis peruviana'' Ehlers, 1868 *'' Nereis phosphorescens'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis phyllophorus'' Ross, 1819 *'' Nereis pinnata'' Müller, 1776 *'' Nereis piscesae'' Blake & Hillbig, 1990 *'' Nereis posidoniae'' Hutchings & Rainer, 1979 *'' Nereis procera'' Ehlers, 1868 *'' Nereis profundi'' Kirkegaard, 1956 *'' Nereis pseudomoniliformis'' Santos & Lana, 2003 *'' Nereis pulsatoria'' (Savigny, 1822) *'' Nereis punctata'' Dalyell, 1853 *'' Nereis puncturata'' Grube, 1857 *'' Nereis quadricorna'' delle Chiaje, 1841 *'' Nereis quoyii'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis radiata'' Viviani ''in'' Grube, 1850 *'' Nereis ranzani'' delle Chiaje, 1828 *'' Nereis rava'' Ehlers, 1864 *'' Nereis regia'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis rigida'' Grube, 1857 *'' Nereis riisei'' Grube, 1857 *'' Nereis robusta'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis rufa'' Pennant, 1812 *'' Nereis rupta'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis sandersi'' Blake, 1985 *'' Nereis sarsoensis'' Hartmann-Schröder, 1960 *'' Nereis schmardae'' Hartmann-Schröder, 1962 *'' Nereis scolopendrina'' Blainville, 1825 *'' Nereis scolopendroides'' Hansen, 1882 *'' Nereis segrex'' Chamberlin, 1919 *'' Nereis semperiana'' (Grube, 1878) *'' Nereis serrata'' Santos & Lana, 2003 *'' Nereis sertularias'' *'' Nereis sieboldii'' Grube, 1873 *'' Nereis sinensis'' Wu, Sun & Yang, 1981 *'' Nereis singularis'' Wesenberg-Lund, 1949 *'' Nereis spinigera'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis splendida'' Blainville, 1825 *'' Nereis splendida'' Grube, 1840 *'' Nereis sumbawaensis'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis surugaense'' Imajima, 1972 *'' Nereis talehsapensis'' Fauvel, 1932 *'' Nereis tenuipalpa'' Pflugfelder, 1933 *'' Nereis tenuis'' Webster & Benedict, 1884 *'' Nereis tethycola'' delle Chiaje, 1831 *'' Nereis thompsoni'' (Kott, 1951) *'' Nereis thysanota'' Ehlers, 1920 *'' Nereis tiedmanni'' delle Chiaje, 1841 *'' Nereis tigrina'' Zachs, 1933 *'' Nereis toporoki'' Khlebovich, 1996 *'' Nereis torta'' Fauvel, 1934 *'' Nereis translucens'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis triangularis'' Hutchings & Turvey, 1982 *'' Nereis tydemani'' (Horst, 1924) *'' Nereis uncia'' Holly, 1935 *'' Nereis usticensis'' Cantone, Catalono & Badalamenti, 2003 *'' Nereis variegata'' Renier, 1804 *'' Nereis veleronis'' Hartman, 1940 *'' Nereis ventilabrum'' Quatrefages, 1866 *'' Nereis vexillosa'' Grube, 1851 *'' Nereis victoriana'' Augener, 1918 *'' Nereis villosa'' Dalyell, 1853 *'' Nereis vitiensis'' Grube, 1870 *'' Nereis willey'' Day, 1934 *'' Nereis zhongshaensis'' Shen & Sun ''in'' Sun, Wu & Shen, 1978 *'' Nereis zonata'' Malmgren, 1867

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135309 Polychaete genera Phyllodocida