(Fabricius, 1780)
Description:
Body slender, anteriorly and posteriorly tapered. Prostomium longer than wide, with straight or slightly concave sides. Eyes small, subdermal, may be difficult to detect in preserved animals. Nuchal papilla large, distinct. Prostomium and segment 1 poorly delineated medio-dorsally. Proboscis proximally smooth, distally smooth or with a few indistinct papillae. Terminal ring of about fifteen papillae and two laterally situated papillae on the inside of the ring. Opening obliquely orientated. Tentacular cirri short, of equal size, reaching the border between segments 2 and 3. Segment 2 with parapodial lobes carrying about 5-10 chaetae and ventral cirri of similar size and shape as those of following segments. Dorsal cirri of median segments oval, longer than broad. 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 a few smaller teeth. Ventral cirri narrow, as long as parapodial lobes (E. longa-detail). Pygidial cirri ovoid, inflated, slightly longer than broad.
Size:
Preserved relaxed specimen 30 mm long for 180 segments.
Colour:
Living animals transparent yellowish white; eyes dark red. Preserved animals yellowish with three more or less distinct darker longitudinal lines dorsally, one median and two lateral. Dorsal and ventral cirri dark.
Habitat:
Muddy sand and mud. Intertidal to at least 120 m.
Distribution:
Recorded as arctic-boreal, both from the Atlantic and the Pacific. North Sea.
Remark:
Preserved specimens are difficult to separate from Eteone flava , morphological differences being very slight. Preferably determinations should be based on living animals, the differences in colour being distinctive and easy to use.