Family AMPHARETIDAE

Ampharetidae

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Family AMPHARETIDAE

Compiler and date details

Jan 2011 - P. Hutchings & M. Yerman, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

10 July 2003

Introduction

Ampharetids are short and compact, tubiculous worms. They are deposit feeders which gather food particles from the substrate surface by means of their buccal tentacles. They construct fragile tubes of mud or sometimes sand grains and attach them to sponges, ascidians or living mollusc shells (but seldom on stones). Very few ampharetids live in shallow water, but they become common with increasing depth, and can form dense colonies.

Figures of 15 genera and 18 species were given by Beesley et al. (2000: App. 1) for representation of the family in Australian waters, and 76 genera and 210+ species worldwide. This database only includes genera and species from Australia which have been recorded in the literature (7 species from 6 genera). It may subsequently be found that not all the 77 genera are valid. 45 genera in the world are monotypic, many of which apppear to be known only from the original record and often representing a single individual, as well as being from very deep waters in many cases. Many of these monotypic genera are incompletely described and poorly illustrated in the original description, and have not been recordede since.

See Hutchings (2000) for detailed treatment of the family.

Database Notes

Many genera in the world are monospecific, and as no family revision has been undertaken yet, this database only includes genera and species from Australia which have been recorded in the literature.
Hutchings & Peart are undertaking an Australian revision of the Ampharetidae but until then this database is created and coded purely from the literature.

The ampharetids resemble the terebellids in many structures and were included among the terebellids until Malmgren's 1866 revision.

Checked against DELTA CD 2003 by RTJ

Diagnosis

General features. Body shape vermiform; segments numerous (more than about 15); regionation present, comprising distinct thorax and abdomen; regions demarcated by absence of abdominal notopodia. Glandular ventral shields present. Pygidium simple ring or cone. Pygidial appendages present; one pair of cirri, or more than four cirri.
Head & head structures. Head bearing many tentacles (=oral filaments) around mouth. Prostomium hood-like. Eyes absent, or present; multiple; situated on prostomium; without lenses. Oral filaments present; arise inside mouth (on dorsal fold). Palps absent. Nuchal organs indistinct paired dorsolateral patches. Peristomial ring single.
Pharynx & pharyngeal apparatus. Foregut a ventral pharyngeal organ.
Body segments & parapodia. First segment a smooth ring. First chaetiger with notochaetae only; chaetae similar in orientation, length and thickness to other chaetae, or projecting obliquely, distinctly thicker and more shiny than subsequent ones (=paleae). Parapodia biramous with prominent parapodial lobes; notopodial lobes represented by at least one chaetal lobe (in anterior body; absent posteriorly); neuropodial lobes low ridges (tori) (throughout). Lateral organs present. Dorsal cirri absent. Ventral cirri absent. Branchiae present; arise from dorsum; occur on at least some chaetigerous segments; filaments arising from a central stalk, or digitiform (sometimes flattened).
Chaetae. Notochaetae present. Aciculae absent. Capillary chaetae hair-like; smooth. Paleae absent, or present laterally on segment 2. Spines absent, or present only in one or a few anterior chaetigers; in notopodia only, or in neuropodia only; sharply bent (=geniculate) or curved. Hooks absent. Uncini present; with teeth in vertical series, teeth usually similar-sized (=pectinate) (rarely crested); arranged in one or two rows.
Tube & burrow. Tube membraneous.

The above description was generated from: 'C.J. Glasby & K. Fauchald (2002 onwards). POLiKEY. An information system for polychaete families and higher taxa: Version 1: September 2002.'
(See ABRS website: Online Resources: Polikey, for Version 2, released June 2003)