Australaugeneria Pettibone, 1969

Ravara, Ascensão & Cunha, Marina R., 2016, Two new species of scale worms (Polychaeta: Aphroditiformia) from deep-sea habitats in the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic), Zootaxa 4097 (3), pp. 442-450 : 444

Genus Australaugeneria Pettibone, 1969 ; emended

Australaugeneria Pettibone 1969 a, p. 20; Pettibone 1969b, p. 519.

Type species. Polynoe rutilans Grube, 1878 .

Diagnosis. Body dorsoventrally flattened, tapering posteriorly, less than 40 segments. Elytra 15 pairs on segments 2, 4, 5, 7, alternating to 23, 26, 29, 32. Elytra soft, translucent, smooth. Prostomium margin rounded without cephalic peaks. Ceratophore of median antenna inserted in anterior notch. Ceratophores of lateral antennae inserted anteroventrally. Palps stout, gradually tapering. Eyes present or absent. Tentacular segment with two pairs of tentacular cirri, without chaetae. Second segment (buccal segment) without nuchal fold, without or with few notochaetae, with hooked neurochaetae. Parapodia of later segments sub-biramous. Notopodia with projecting acicular lobe. Neuropodia long, with well-developed pre- and postchaetal lamellae. Prechaetal lamellae of segments 2 and 3 may be more or less strongly enlarged, hood-like, enclosing hooked chaetae. Notochaetae few, stouter or more slender than neurochaetae, smooth or spinulose, tips unidentate. Neurochaetae present as stout hooks in anteriormost segments, those of following segments curved, smooth or faintly spinulose below more or less strongly hooked tips, sometimes bidentate, with a small secondary tooth.

Remarks. Pettibone (1969a, b) considered the notochaeta of A. rutilans and A. pottsi as bidentate, however Wehe (2006) disagreed arguing that the bidentate appearance of the chaetae is due to the long series of spines along the convex notochaetal edge reaching almost to the tip of the chaetae. This feature was confirmed by Dr. Gordon Paterson that examined one syntype of A. pottsi (BMNH1924:3:1:77) on our behalf.