(Fabricius, 1780)
Description:
Body slender, dorso-ventrally flattened, posteriorly tapered. Prostomium about as wide as long, with convex sides. Eyes small, subdermal, may be difficult to detect in preserved specimens. Nuchal papilla large, distinct. Prostomium and segment 1 poorly delineated medio-dorsally. Proboscis proximally smooth, distally with few, scattered, rather indistinct papillae. Two large lateral papillae on the inside of the terminal ring. Opening obliquely orientated. Tentacular cirri short, reaching the border between segments 2 and 3. Ventral pair stouter and slightly longer than dorsal pair. Segment 2 with about 5-10 chaetae and ventral cirri of similar size and shape as those of following segments. Dorsal cirri of median segments oval, in larger specimens wider than long. Parapodial lobes rounded, with a rather small number of chaetae. Terminal end of chaetal shaft asymmetrical, main tooth on one side slightly larger than on other side, with rather few smaller teeth. Blades long and slender. Ventral cirri oval, about as long as parapodial lobes. Pygidial cirri ovoid, inflated, slightly longer than broad (E. flava-detail).
Size:
Living relaxed specimen 10 mm long for 70 segments.
Colour:
Living animals rose-red to orange. Eyes dark red. Preserved animals varying from yellow to brownish, often with darker pigment present medially and laterally on prostomium, laterally on segment 1 and irregularly distributed on the body.
Habitat:
Sediments with muddy sand and mud. Depth distribution uncertain due to possible confusion with other species. Found from 15 to 750 m in Kattegat, Skagerrak, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
Distribution:
Recorded as arctic-boreal, both Atlantic and Pacific.
Remark:
Preserved specimens are difficult to separate from Eteone longa , morphological differences being very slight. Preferably determinations should be based on living animals, the differences in colour being distinctive and easy to use.