Protodrilus cf. puniceus Sato-Okoshi, Okoshi & Fujiwara, 2015 Fig. 24A, B, C

Diagnosis.

Round prostomium with two terminal palps. No eyes. Thick bands of cilia around mouth, continuing ventrally along length of body. Slender filiform body, less than 5 mm long when preserved. Pygidium with two lateral lobes and a median cluster of cilia. Colour in ethanol white.

Remarks.

Protodrilus puniceus is the only species of Protodrilus reported from whale fall communities, all other species are distributed in sandy, intertidal areas (Sato-Okoshi et al. 2015). It was described from a sperm whale carcass deposited at a depth of 219-254 m just off Cape Namomisaki, Kyushu Island, Japan. Observed specimens were similarly collected from a whale fall community but at 1000 m.

Records.

> 100 specimens. Suppl. material 1: op. 100 (AM). 12 specimens Suppl. material 1. op. 100 (NHMUK).