Kinberg, 1866
Description:
Body broad, of uniform width. Prostomium ovoid to pentagonal. Eyes medium-sized. Proximal part of proboscis with six rows of about 14-15 papillae on each side. Distal part narrow with large, slightly flattened, drop-shaped papillae with pointed tips, varying in size and apparently diffusely distributed. Terminal ring not observed. Segment 1 and most of segment 2 not visible dorsally. Tentacular cirri of segment 1 reaching about segment 7. Dorsal and ventral tentacular cirri of segment 2 reaching about segment 12-14 and segment 6-7 respectively. Dorsal tentacular cirri of segment 3 reaching about segment 9. Chaetae present from segment 4. Dorsal cirri of median segments oval. Parapodial lobes conspicuously bilobed with prolonged and pointed upper part. Ventral cirri lanceolate with distinct tips, slightly longer than parapodial lobes. Pygidial cirri extremely long and thin (P. longipes-detail).
Size:
Up to 30 mm for 150 segments.
Colour:
Living animals with yellow pigment on dorsal side of prostomium and as transverse bands on dorsum. Dark brown pigment covers entire dorsal part of segment 4 and 5 and occurs as spots on pseudosegmented areas. First pair of dorsal cirri darker than the others. On median segments brown pigment occurs laterally close to cirrophores, in the centre of dorsal cirri and on pseudosegmented areas. Eyes ruby-red. Yellow pigmentation disappears in preserved animals, but dark pigmentation is usually retained. Eyes brownish-black.
Habitat:
On bottoms with shell gravel and sand; mainly 15-40 m depth, but may be found down to at least 150 m.
Distribution:
Chile, Mexico, North Carolina, South Africa, North Atlantic up to English Channel, Denmark, Öresund, west coast of Sweden.