Aponuphis Kucheruk, 1978

Paxton, Hannelore, 2017, Three new species of Aponuphis (Annelida: Onuphidae) from eastern Australia, Zootaxa 4344 (2) : -

Genus Aponuphis Kucheruk, 1978

Aponuphis Kucheruk, 1978: 91 .–– Paxton 1986: 53; Arias & Paxton, 2015: 357 .

Type-species. Hyalinoecia bilineata Baird, 1870: 358 , by original designation. Gender: feminine.

Diagnosis. Prostomium anteriorly extended or incised; with oval frontal lips; palps and antennae with ceratophores with up to 11 rings, palpostyles shorter to longer than their ceratophores, lateral antennae longest, reaching to chaetiger 5–25; peristomial cirri absent. Anterior 3–6 (rarely 7–8) pairs of parapodia modified but not enlarged, with bi- to tridentate pseudocompound to compound hooks; median hooks slightly larger, remaining sometimes into unmodified region (to chaetiger 7–9). Ventral cirri subulate on 4–7 chaetigers. Limbate chaetae replacing hooks from chaetiger 4 or later until replaced by bidentate hooded subacicular hooks from chaetiger 8–30. Branchiae rarely absent, usually present from chaetiger 4, rarely 1–7 or later; single filament. Fragile mucous tubes with attached sand or broken shells, rarely tough and smooth, lacking any foreign particles.

Remarks. This diagnosis is an update of Paxton (1986); the discovery of new species required the modification of various values of the earlier definition. However, the large discrepancy in the number of ceratophoral rings on palps and antennae (up to 11 vs. up to 20) is due to an error in Paxton (1986) that was repeated in Arias & Paxton (2015).