''Subadyte papillifera'' is a

scale worm Polynoidae is a family of marine Polychaete worms known as "scale worms" due to the scale-like elytra on the dorsal surface. Almost 900 species are currently recognised belonging to 9 subfamilies and 167 genera. They are active hunters, but gene ...

known from the shores of northern Australia and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

from the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

to depths of about 26 m.Horst, R. 1915. On new and little-known species of Polynoinae from the Netherland's East-Indies. Zoologische Mededeelingen (Leiden), 1: 2-20.Cañete, Juan I. 1997. Descripción de cinco especies de Polynoidae (Polychaeta)le Islas Isla de Pascua. Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía, 32(2): 189-202.

Description

''Subadyte papillifera'' is a short-bodied worm with about 39 segments and 15-16 pairs of

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) 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 (sometimes altern ...

. The body is a light tan colour with darker mottling on dorsum, with the

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

also light tan and antennae with slight mottling of darker pigment on inflated tips. The prostomium bears a pair of anterior projections on the anterior margin and the lateral antennae are positioned ventrally on it, directly beneath median antenna ceratophore. The notochaetae are about as thick as the neurochaetae, which also possess bidentate tips.

Biology and ecology

''Subadyte papillifera'' is 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 fr ...

organism, living on host

corals Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2015271 Phyllodocida