''Austrolaenilla'' is a genus of marine

annelid The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...

s in the family

Polynoidae Polynoidae is a family (biology), family of marine Polychaete worms known as "scale worms" due to the scale-like elytron (Annelida), elytra on the dorsal surface. Almost 900 species are currently recognised belonging to 9 subfamilies and 167 gen ...

(scale worms). The genus includes 10 species which are known from depths of about 20 m to over 5000 m and from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

and

Antarctic Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Description

''Austrolaenilla'' are short bodied species with fewer than 50 segments and 15 or 16 pairs of

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

. The median and lateral antennae are covered with slender papillae and are located ventral to the anterior margin of the

prostomium The prostomium (From Ancient Greek, meaning "before the mouth"; : prostomia; sometimes also called the "acron") is the Cephalization, cephalized first body segment in an annelid worm's body at the anterior end. It is in front of (but does not in ...

; lateral antennae are ventrally (directly beneath the median antenna).

Chaeta A chaeta or cheta (; ) is a chitinous bristle or seta found on annelid worms, although the term is also frequently used to describe similar structures in other invertebrates such as arthropods. Polychaete annelids (''polychaeta'' literally me ...

e are present on the first segment. The neuropodial lobe is elongate and tapering. The

notochaetae A chaeta or cheta (; ) is a chitinous bristle or seta found on annelid worms, although the term is also frequently used to describe similar structures in other invertebrates such as arthropods. Polychaete annelids (''polychaeta'' literally mean ...

are stout, distinctly thicker than

neurochaetae A chaeta or cheta (; ) is a chitinous bristle or seta found on annelid worms, although the term is also frequently used to describe similar structures in other invertebrates such as arthropods. Polychaete annelids (''polychaeta'' literally mean ...

and are ornamented with transverse rows of fine teeth. The neurochaetae are distinctive, with hairy tips and may be either unidentate or bidentate.Bergström, Erik. (1916). Die Polynoiden der schwedischen Südpolarexpedition 1901–1903. Zoologiska bidrag från Uppsala. 4: 269–304, plates 2–5. Additional literature: Pettibone MH (1955) New species of polychaete worms of the family Polynoidae from the east coast of North America. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 45: 118–126Barnich R, Fiege D (2009) Revision of the genus Harmothoe Kinberg, 1856 (Polychaeta: Polynoidae) in the Northeast Atlantic. Zootaxa 2104: 1–76. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2104.1.1

Species

The following species of ''Austrolaenilla'' are recognised as of September 2020: *'' Austrolaenilla abyssicola'' (Uschakov, 1962) *'' Austrolaenilla antarctica'' Bergström, 1916 *'' Austrolaenilla bidentata'' Averincev, 1978 *'' Austrolaenilla fulgens'' (Pruvot in Fauvel, 1936) *'' Austrolaenilla hastulifera'' (Pruvot in Fauvel, 1936) *'' Austrolaenilla lanellae'' Pettibone, 1955 *'' Austrolaenilla meteorae'' (Hartmann-Schröder, 1982) *'' Austrolaenilla mollis'' (Sars, 1872) *'' Austrolaenilla pelagica'' (Monro, 1930) *'' Austrolaenilla setobarba'' (Monro, 1930)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3919374 Phyllodocida Polychaete genera