Polydorella Augener, 1914

Polydorella Augener, 1914: 16; Tzetlin & Britayev 1985: 177 –178; Radashevsky 1996: 685; Williams 2004: 1342.

Type-species. Polydorella prolifera Augener, 1914, by monotypy.

Remarks. Polydorella Augener, 1914 is a small group of spionid polychaetes currently comprising five species, all symbionts of sponges in tropical and subtropical waters. Adults live in tiny silty tubes on sponge surfaces, reproduce asexually by paratomy and have limited number of body segments, no more than 16. Sexual reproduction and larval development are unknown.

Two species, P. prolifera Augener, 1914 and P. stolonifera (Blake & Kudenov, 1978, as Pseudopolydora stolonifera) were originally described from Australia. These are the only Polydorella species reported so far from the Australian waters.