Malmgren, 1867
Description:
Worms resembling centipedes. Prostomium simple or bilobed with four eyes, two or three antennae and two palps each divided into two sections.
Peristomium limited to lips.
First segment dorsally reduced. Up to eight pairs of tentacular cirri present on cephalized segments.
Parapodia biramous or subbiramous with the notopodium represented by a dorsal cirrus with internal acicula only. Notopodial chaetae (if present) variously ornamented capillaries. Neuropodial chaetae compounds. Dorsal and ventral cirri present, dorsal being long and annulated, ventral shorter.
Pygidium with two cirri (Hesionidae).
Pharynx eversible with or without terminal papillae and with or without a pair of lateral jaws.
Active, but fragile worms, some carnivorous but others commensal with burrowing worms, asteroids or shrimps.
After: Fauchald and Rouse, 1997 and Hayward and Ryland, 1990.
The following taxa of this family occur in the region:
Genus Gyptis
Genus Hesionides
Subfamily Hesioninae
Genus Kefersteinia
Subfamily Microphthalminae
Genus Microphthalmus
Genus Nereimyra
Genus Ophiodromus
Genus Podarkeopsis
Genus Syllidia
Gyptis mackiei
Gyptis propinqua
Gyptis rosea
Hesionides arenaria
Hesionides maxima
Kefersteinia cirrata
Microphthalmus aberrans
Microphthalmus bifurcatus
Microphthalmus fragilis
Microphthalmus listensis
Microphthalmus sczelkowii
Microphthalmus similis
Nereimyra punctata
Ophiodromus flexuosus
Podarkeopsis helgolandica
Syllidia armata