Caulleriella Chamberlin, 1919

Blake, James A., 2019, New species of Cirratulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from abyssal depths of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, North Equatorial Pacific Ocean, Zootaxa 4629 (2), pp. 151-187 : 167

Genus Caulleriella Chamberlin, 1919

Type species: Cirratulus viridis Langerhans, 1881 , original designation by Chamberlin 1919.

Diagnosis. Prostomium elongate; peristomium short to elongate, dorsal tentacles usually beginning anterior to setiger 1. Middle body segments not beaded; parapodia with noto- and neuropodia widely separated from one another. Modified setae including bidentate, crotchet-like hooks, not arranged into modified cinctures.

Remarks. Species of Caulleriella are among the easier bitentaculate cirratulids to identify. Unlike other bitentaculates, the noto- and neuropodia are widely separated from one another on each setiger and bidentate hooks are present in at least the neuropodia somewhere along the body. Species of Caulleriella species, however, have rarely been reported from deep-sea habitats. Caulleriella bathytata n. sp. reported here represents the deepest known occurrence for the genus.