(Sars, 1863)
Description:
Body of this scale-worm is tapering posteriorly. Dorsal and ventral surfaces smooth.
Prostomium bilobed, with a peak on each lobe, a median antenna, a pair of papillated lateral antennae and a pair of smooth palps. Two pairs of eyes, the anterior pair just in front of the line of greatest width, the posterior pair in front of the rear margin. First segment bearing 1 or 2 chaetae and a pair of dorsal and ventral tentacular cirri in fused cirrophores. Scales overlap, almost covering the body. The first pair of scales are round, the remainder oval to kidney-shaped; all with smooth margins. Surfaces of the first pair of scales covered with tubercles, the remainder with small tubercles on the anterior half and larger spiny tuberculate mounds on the posterior half of each scale. Notopodia are short projections with a ventral acicular ligule and numerous chaetae. Notopodial chaetae stout with rows of spines and blunt tips. Neuropodia project beyond notopodia, with a dorsal acicular ligule. Neuropodial chaetae with rows of spines and bidentate tips, a few ventrally with unidentate tips.
Size:
Up to 20 mm for 41 segments.
Colour:
Yellow-white scales.
Habitat:
Sublittoral, 8-400 m, on sand, shells and Desmacidona sponge.
Distribution:
North Atlantic between Ireland and Azores, Mediterranean, northern North Sea up to Skagerrak.