Nephtys Cuvier, 1817

Murray, Anna, Wong, Eunice & Hutchings, Pat, 2015, Nephtyidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) of Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Zootaxa 4019 (1), pp. 414-436 : 431

Genus Nephtys Cuvier, 1817 (sensu Hartman, 1959)

Nephtys Cuvier, 1817: 173 .

Nephtys .— Hartman 1950: 89; 1959: 282; Ravara et al. 2010b: 30 ; Dixon-Bridges et al. 2014: 521 . Dentinephtys Imajima & Takeda, 1987: 43 .— Ravara et al. 2010a: 402 .

Type-species. Nephtys hombergii Savigny in Lamarck, 1818, subsequent designation by Hartman (1959).

Diagnosis. The genus Nephtys currently includes species with conical, rounded or bilobed acicular lobes and well developed parapodial lobes. Pair of antennae and palps present. Pharynx usually with rows of less than 10 subterminal papillae (usually up to 5–7); elongate middorsal papilla present or absent; proximal region smooth or covered with small verrucae. Branchiae recurved. Lyrate chaetae absent. Aciculae of median and posterior parapodia with curved tips. Jaws conical, hook-like. Nuchal organs round.

Remarks. Dixon-Bridges et al. (2014) modified the generic diagnosis to include the presence of lyrate chaetae, but this is now ascertained to be an error (Hutchings, pers. obs.). The conical shape of the acicular lobes appears to be the only morphological character that now distinguishes Nephtys from Aglaophamus , which has acutely pointed acicular lobes, and as this character would seem to be subject to interpretation, and may even depend on the state or type of preservation, it is obvious that a revision of the characters used to define nephtyid genera is required. However, this is beyond the scope of the present study.