Polynoidae Kinberg, 1856

Sato, Masanori, Jimi, Naoto, Itani, Gyo, Henmi, Yumi & Kobayashi, Shuji, 2023, Synonymy of the Scale Worm Hesperonoe urechis with Arctonoella sinagawaensis (Annelida: Polynoidae), Newly Recorded from the Seto Inland Sea, Western Japan, with Remarks on Symbiosis with the Spoon Worm Urechis unicinctus (Annelida: Thalassematidae), Species Diversity 28 (2), pp. 147-163 : 148-149

Family Polynoidae Kinberg, 1856 Subfamily Polynoinae Kinberg, 1856

Polynoinae Kinberg, 1856: 383 ; Wehe 2006: 122. Harmothoinae Willey, 1902: 263 .

Acholoinae Pettibone, 1996: 629–630.

Diagnosis (emended after Wehe 2006). Body usually short, rarely with more than 50 segments. Prostomium with or without cephalic peaks, with three antennae. Median antenna with large ceratophore in anterior notch of prostomium; lateral antennae with distinct ceratophores inserted ventrally or terminoventrally on prostomium. Palps stout, conical. Usually with two pairs of eyes, arrangement variable. Tentaculophores with or without chaetae. Second (buccal) segment with or without nuchal fold. Elytra often 15 pairs on segments 2, 4, 5, 7, alternating to 23, then variable in arrangement, often continuing on 26, 29, 32; some genera with more or less than 15 pairs. Elytra surface usually ornamented with various tubercles or papillae, margin with or without fringing papillae. Dorsal cirri usually with papillate styles. Dorsal tubercles usually distinct. Notopodia large to small, with acicular process. Prechaetal acicular lobe of neuropodia with single or bifurcated tips; postchaetal lobe of neuropodia bluntly rounded, slightly shorter. Notochaetae usually numerous, shape variable. Neurochaetae usually numerous, uni- or bidentate, shape variable. Pygidium with pair of anal cirri.

Remarks. The definition of Wehe (2006) is slightly modified to accommodate the genera of Acholoinae , a subjective synonym of Polynoinae according to Norlinder et al. (2012). Neuropodia of Acholoinae are characterized by its prechaetal acicular lobe with bifurcated tip, in contrast to a single tip in all other Polynoinae ( Wehe 2006) .