''Brychionoe'' 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, ''Brychionoe karenae'', which is long-bodied and occurs in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

at depths of 1100–1300 m.Hanley, J. Russell and Burke, Melanie 1991. A new genus and species of scaleworm (Polycheta: Polynoidae) from the Cascade Plateau, Tasman Sea. The Beagle, Records of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, 8(1): 97-102

Description

Body with 65 to 90 or more segments and 47 to 87 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 ...

; on the posterior-most region, the elytra occur on every segments (rather than on alternating segments, as in most Polynoidae). The tips of the

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

and

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 the ventral

cirri Cirrus may refer to: Science *Cirrus (biology), any of various thin, thread-like structures on the body of an animal *Cirrus (botany), a tendril * Infrared cirrus, in astronomy, filamentary structures seen in infrared light *Cirrus cloud, a typ ...

, all have numerous papillae. Some

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 ...

have forked tips (with 2 terminal teeth of similar size). Although ''Brychionoe'' currently contains a single described species, an additional record of an unidentified species in this genus was reported from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

by Serpetti ''et al''. (2017).Serpetti N, Taylor ML, Brennan D, Green DH, Rogers AD, Paterson GLJ, Narayanaswamy BE (2017) Ecological adaptations and commensal evolution of the Polynoidae (Polychaeta) in the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge: A phylogenetic approach. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 137: 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.06.004.

Biology and ecology

''Brychionoe karenae'' has a

commensal Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit f ...

relationship with the antipatharian coral, '' Leiopathes sp.''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2434993 Phyllodocida Polychaete genera