(O.F. Müller, 1776)
Description:
Body thin and long.
Prostomium semicircular to rounded rectangular, 2x as broad as long, with four red eyes in a trapezoid arrangement and two ocelli, at the base of the lateral antennae. Anterior pair of eyes larger than posterior pair. Palps oval, about as long as the prostomium. Lateral antennae longer than palps, with 11-17 rings. Median antenna longer, with 14-18 rings.
Dorsal tentacular cirri with 16-20 rings, longer than median antenna. Ventral tentacular cirri half of the length of the dorsal one.
Dorsal cirri with 8-20 rings. Ventral cirri finger-shaped without rings; in anterior parapodia somewhat longer than the parapodial lobes, posteriorly becoming shorter.
Compound chaetae of anterior and posterior parapodia with bidentate blades. Blades of mid-body chaetae shorter and unidentate or inconspicuously bidentate. Posterior parapodia dorsally also with a simple bidentate chaeta. 1 to 3 aciculae (T. armillaris-detail).
Proboscis with 10 papillae and one big tooth anteriorly.
Two pygidial cirri, no tail.
Size:
Up to 50 mm for 200 segments.
Colour:
Dorsally yellow or pink, with or without reddish to brownish transverse banding.
Habitat:
On all substrata; eulittoral to 400 m.
Distribution:
World-wide. North Sea to Öresund.