Neanthes Kinberg, 1865

Hsueh, Pan-Wen, 2019, Neanthes (Annelida: Nereididae) from Taiwanese waters, with description of seven new species and one new species record, Zootaxa 4554 (1), pp. 173-198 : 174

Genus Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 , emended

Neanthes Kinberg, 1865: 171 .

Nereis (Neanthioides) Rioja, 1918: 66 .

Praxithea Malmgren, 1867: 50 .

Type-species. Neanthes vaalii Kinberg, 1865 (subsequent designation)

Diagnosis (after Bakken and Wilson 2005, new feature highlighted in boldface). Prostomium anterior margin entire. One pair of antennae present, paired biarticulated palps with conical palpostyles. Four pairs of tentacular cirri present with distinct cirrophores. Eyes present or absent. One apodous anterior segment present, longer than chaetiger 1. Conical paragnaths present on both maxillary and oral rings of pharynx. Dorsal notopodial ligule present. Prechaetal notopodial lobe present or absent, present throughout all chaetigers or limited to anterior chaetigers. Dorsal cirrus present, without basal cirrophore. Neuropodial postchaetal lobe absent or present. Notoaciculae absent from chaetigers 1 and 2. Notochaetae all homogomph spinigers. Neurochaetae, dorsal fascicle: heterogomph spinigers present or absent, homogomph spinigers present, heterogomph falcigers present or absent. Neurochaetae, ventral fascicle: heterogomph spinigers present or absent, homogomph spinigers present or absent, heterogomph falcigers present; sesquigomph spinigers and falcigers present or absent.

Remarks. Based on the diversity of Taiwan Neanthes fauna described in this paper and the original descriptions of N. glandicincta ( Southern, 1921) and N. wilsonchani Lee & Glasby, 2015 ( Southern 1921: 591– 592, text-fig. 5, pl. XXIII, fig. 9K, L; Lee & Glasby 2 015: 89, fig. 12D, E), the generic diagnosis is emended slightly to include the presence of sesquigomph spinigers and falcigers in the ventral neuropodial fascicle. The genus is currently circumscribed as polyphyletic due to several variable characters (i.e., prechaetal notopodial lobe, neuropodial heterogomph spinigers in dorsal fascicle, neuropodial homogomph spinigers in ventral fascicle) ( Bakken & Wilson 2005). The latter two above-mentioned characters have not been observed for species described from Taiwanese waters.