Sphaerephesia Fauchald, 1972

Capa, Maria, Osborn, Karen J. & Bakken, Torkild, 2016, Sphaerodoridae (Annelida) of the deep Northwestern Atlantic, including remarkable new species of Euritmia and Sphaerephesia, ZooKeys 615, pp. 1-32 : 11

Taxon classification Animalia Phyllodocida Sphaerodoridae

Sphaerephesia Fauchald, 1972

Sphaerephesia Fauchald, 1972: 97; Magalhães et al. 2011: 40; Capa et al. 2014.

Type species.

Sphaerephesia longisetis Fauchald, 1972.

Diagnosis.

Body short and ellipsoid, some species slender. Four or more longitudinal rows of sessile macrotubercles with terminal papillae. Microtubercles absent (?). Papillae over body surface and parapodia. Prostomial and peristomial appendages short, spherical or digitiform. Parapodia with compound chaetae; hooks absent.

Remarks.

There are two species in the genus described as presenting microtubercles (tubercles consisting of a basal collar and a terminal papillae) on the lateral or dorsolateral side of the body, but these differ from those typically present in the long-bodied sphaerodorids (i.e. Ephesiella , Ephesiopsis and Sphaerodoridium ).