Bosc, 1802
Description:
Prostomium blunt in front, extending rearwards in a low crest. Palps long, slender, ciliated, very mobile. Longitudinal sensory grooves mid-dorsally. Dorsal lobes of parapodia do not usually contribute to the gills; number of the gills variable beginning from the 7th to 9th chaetiger, rarely from the second. Fifth chaetiger markedly different from all others, lacking gills and parapodial lobes but bearing strongly modified, thick chaetae dorsally. Short, stout chaetae ventrally from the 7th or 8th chaetiger, tipped with two small hooded teeth. Anus surrounded by a membranous funnel, complete or four-lobed. All species make a U-shaped tube from small particles (usually of mud, but may be whitish and calcareous if excavating in lithothamnia or other encrusting coralline algae). Much of this tube may be embedded in a burrow excavated in limestone rock or shells. In life, the palps protrude, waving vigorously.
After: Hayward and Ryland, 1990.
The following species of this genus occur in the region:
Polydora antennata
Polydora caeca
Polydora caulleryi
Polydora ciliata
Polydora cornuta
Polydora flava
Polydora giardi
Polydora hermaphroditica
Polydora hoplura
Polydora ligerica
Polydora limicola
Polydora paucibranchiata
Polydora pulchra
Polydora quadrilobata
Polydora socialis