''Austropolaria'' is a genus of marine

annelids 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 ...

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 a single species, ''Austropolaria magnicirrata'', which is known only from the

Amundsen Sea The Amundsen Sea is an arm of the Southern Ocean off Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica. It lies between Cape Flying Fish (the northwestern tip of Thurston Island) to the east and Cape Dart on Siple Island to the west. Cape Flying Fish ...

in 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 ...

, at depths of 1000 to 1500m.Neal L, Barnich R, Wiklund H, Glover AG (2012) A new genus and species of Polynoidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, Southern Ocean-a region of high taxonomic novelty. Zootaxa 3542: 80–88. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3542.1.4.

Description

The characters which distinguish ''Austropolaria'' from other scale worm genera in the predominantly deep sea subfamily Macellicephalinae are seven pairs of

papilla Papilla (Latin, 'nipple') or papillae may refer to: In animals * Papilla (fish anatomy), in the mouth of fish * Papilla (worms), small bumps on the surface of certain worms * Basilar papilla, a sensory organ of lizards, amphibians and fish * ...

e on the pharynx, nine pairs of reduced elytrophores, ventral cirri inserted subdistally on the

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

, and a ventral keel at the posterior end.

Description of ''Austropolaria magnicirrata''

''A. magnicirrata'' has 20 segments and 9 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 lateral antennae are absent and

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 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 ...

Biology and Ecology

In the region of the Amundsen Sea studied, ''Austropolaria magnicirrata'' was absent from shallow (500m) stations and only occurred in the deeper basin thought to be the result of erosion by sub-glacial meltwater.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21223356 Phyllodocida Taxa described in 2012