Ophelia rathkei

McIntosh, 1908

Description:
Body spindle-shaped. Anterior body part cylindrical, posterior part with a ventral furrow and two lateral ones, starting at chaetiger 7-8. Segments with 4-6 superficial annulations.
Prostomium very small, conical, with 3 small eyes and 2 nuchal slits.
Anterior 11 chaetigers without gills; the 9 following chaetigers with gills. Posterior 4 chaetigers without gills. Gills are finger-shaped.
Noto- and neuropodia small rounded lobes. 7-10 pairs of gills, starting at chaetiger 4 or 5, absent in the last 4-6 chaetigers. All chaetae smooth capillaries, the posterior ones very long.
Pygidium with a single thick papilla and dorsal circle of 4-10 much smaller papillae.

Size:
Up to 8 mm for 25 chaetigers.

Colour:
Whitish, transparent.

Habitat:
On sand, eulittoral to 12 m.

Distribution:
North Sea to Baltic Sea, Northeast Atlantic.

%LABEL% (%SOURCE%)