Genus Neanthes Kinberg, 1865

Neanthes Kinberg, 1865: 171–172; Imajima, 1972: 102; Fauchald, 1977: 89; Wu et al., 1985: 143; Khlebovich, 1996: 102; Bakken and Wilson, 2005: 527; Glasby et al., 2011: 363.

Type species: Neanthes vaalii Kinberg, 1865 .

Diagnosis

Prostomium with entire anterior margin, one pair of antennae, one pair of palps. Eyes present or absent. Eversible proboscis with conical paragnaths on both maxillary and oral rings; paragnaths occasionally emerging from plate-like basement; smooth barlike paragnaths present or absent on Area IV of maxillary ring. Four pairs of tentacular cirri. Parapodia biramous, except first two pairs; notoaciculae present or absent on chaetigers 1 and 2. Dorsal cirrus lacking basal cirrophore. Notochaetae homogomph spinigers. Upper neurochaetae including homogomph spinigers and heterogomph falcigers; heterogomph spinigers present or absent. Lower neurochaetae including heterogomph falcigers; homogomph and heterogomph spinigers present or absent. Neuropodial heterogomph falcigers occasionally with varying degrees of fusion of chaetal shaft and blade in posterior body.

Remarks

Neanthes is a large genus, considered to be polyphyletic (Bakken and Wilson 2005; Glasby et al. 2011). The generic diagnosis is modified here from Bakken and Wilson (2005) and Glasby et al. (2011) to allow for the presence of notoaciculae on chaetigers 1 and 2 of Neanthes succinea, which is placed back to this genus from Alitta in the present study (see below).