''Disconatis accolus'' is only known from New Zealand where it is commensal in the tubes of marine annelids of the family

Arenicolidae Arenicolidae is a family of marine polychaete worms. They are commonly known as lugworms and the little coils of sand they produce are commonly seen on the beach. Arenicolids are found worldwide, mostly living in burrows in sandy substrates. Most ...

.Estcourt, I. N. 1967. Burrowing polychaete worms from a New Zealand estuary. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Ser. Zoology, 9(7): 65–78.

Description

''Disconatis accolus'' is known from a single specimen with 152 segments and 76 pairs of elytra; the first pair are much larger than the following. It has smooth elytra but with minute papillae on the dorsal surface of the body, in contrast with the other species in the genus, ''

Disconatis contubernalis ''Disconatis contubernalis'' is only known from Australia where it is commensal in the tubes of marine annelids of the family Maldanidae.Hanley, J. Russell and Burke, Melanie 1988. A new genus and species of commensal scaleworm (Polychaeta: Pol ...

'' which has large papillae on the elytra but a smooth body. The lateral antennae are inserted ventral to the median antenna. Notopodia are vestigial and notochaetae are absent. The

neuropodia 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 ...

are rounded and the neurochaetae are unidentate but have serrations on the convex side.

Biology and ecology

''Disconatis accolus'' has a commensal relationship with the annelid ''

Abarenicola affinis ''Abarenicola affinis'' is a species of polychaetes belonging to the family Arenicolidae Arenicolidae is a family of marine polychaete worms. They are commonly known as lugworms and the little coils of sand they produce are commonly seen on t ...

'', where ''D. accolus'' lives inside the tubes it creates.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2424865 Phyllodocida