Prionospio cirrifera

Wirén, 1883

Description:
Body slender and slightly flattened.
Prostomium rounded triangular, anteriorly broad, with four eyes and a caruncle reaching the posterior margin of chaetiger 2.
Notopodial postchaetal lobes of the first chaetiger fused to the upper margin of the first segment. Following notopodial postchaetal lobes triangular, posteriorly becoming shorter, connected by a kind of collar across the dorsum from segment 10-11 to almost the posterior end. Neuropodial postchaetal lobes on segment 2 with a clearly down-ward curved tip; on other segments, they are rectangular, posteriorly more rounded and short (P. cirrifera-parapodium).
Anterior segments, only with capillaries on noto- and neuropodia. Neuropodia with sabre-like chaetae from segment 10 and hooks from segment 10-17. Notopodia with hooks from segment 18-48. In mid-body, 4 hooks on each notopodium and 10 in each neuropodium. Hooks with a main tooth and 2 rows of 5-6 small teeth (P. cirrifera-chaetae).
Six to eight pairs of ciliated gills, starting at chaetiger 2. The 1st and 6th pair long, and cirriform; other pairs of gills shorter, almost triangular and with a long tips.
Pygidium with one long and two short cirri.

Size:
Up to 30 mm for 78 segments.

Colour:
Yellowish.

Habitat:
On mud, from upper sublittoral to 4165 m.

Distribution:
Arctic, northern North Sea to Kattegat.

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