Aricidea minuta

Southward, 1956

Description:
A small worm with up to 54 segments. The conical prostomium is fused with peristomium; with articulate antenna and two semicircular nuchal slits; eyes absent.
Anterior segments are gradually becoming broader, 6th-8th chaetiger being the broadest.
Notopodial postchaetal lobes on the first chaetiger very short, papilla-like becoming longer and finger-like until chaetiger 14, posteriorly becoming shorter and thinner.
Neuropodial postchaetal lobes papilla-like.
Chaetae are capillaries, notopodial chaetae slightly longer than neuropodial.
Two kinds of modified chaetae, starting at neuropodium 20-30: thick straight, pseudoarticulate capillaries and 3-5 short chaetae with fine subdistal prolongation.
Up to 13 pairs of leaf-like or lanceolate gills, starting at chaetiger 4.
Pygidium with two long and one short cirrus.

Size:
Up to 8 mm for 54 segments.

Colour:
Whitish with green gloss. Red gills. In alcohol rust-red.

Habitat:
Middle eulittoral to 70 m. In sand, mud and mixed bottoms.

Distribution:
North Pacific, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, North Sea to Baltic Sea (RĂ¼gen).

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