Family SPIONIDAE

Spionidae

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Family SPIONIDAE

Compiler and date details

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

7 August 2003

Introduction

Spionids are benthic polychaetes with a pair of grooved feeding palps (that are usually lost from preserved specimens), a prostomium that is posteriorly prolonged, prominent dorsal parapodial lobes and, usually, gills.
Spionids are common and widespread in soft sediments throughout most marine habitats and are often abundant in benthic samples. One group of genera — polydorids — include many species that bore into mollusc shells and other calcareous substrates. Species in these polydorid genera may be significant pest of abalone, oysters and other fisheries and aquaculture ventures.

Figures of 24 genera and 81 species were given by Beesley et al. (2000: App. 1) for representation of the family in Australian waters, and 33 genera and 450+ species worldwide. There have been a number of recent publications on the relationships of spionid genera. This database includes 94 species from 21 genera. The southern Australian fauna appears to be relatively well known, especially from estuarine and inshore soft sediment habitats.

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

Database Notes

proof read against Day & Hutchings 1979 by RW; no subsequent records added
checcked against DELTA CD, 2003 by RTJ

Diagnosis

General features. Body shape vermiform; segments numerous (more than about 15); regionation absent. Pygidium simple ring or cone, or with multiple digitate lobes. Pygidial appendages present; more than four cirri.
Head & head structures. Head discrete and compact, dorsal to mouth (prolonged posteriorly extending into first segment). Prostomium triangular to trapezoidal (narrow end posteriorly), or t-shaped, wide end anteriorly (i.e. resembling lateral horns) (rarely). Eyes absent, or present; one pair, or multiple; situated on prostomium; without lenses. Prostomial antennae absent, or present; single arising anteromedially (also called an occipital antenna; very small); smooth. Palps paired; longitudinally grooved; dorsolateral. Nuchal organs paired posterior projections. Peristomial ring single.
Pharynx & pharyngeal apparatus. Foregut a non-muscular axial proboscis, or a ventral pharyngeal organ; dorsolateral ciliated folds present.
Body segments & parapodia. First segment chaetigerous. First chaetiger with neurochaetae only, or with both notochaetae and neurochaetae. Parapodia biramous with prominent parapodial lobes; notopodial lobes represented by at least one chaetal lobe; neuropodial lobes represented by at least one chaetal lobe. Lateral organs present. Dorsal cirri absent. Ventral cirri absent. Branchiae present (rarely absent); arise from parapodia (fused basally to notopodium), or arise from dorsum; occur on at least some chaetigerous segments; filaments arising from a central stalk, or digitiform (flattened).
Chaetae. Notochaetae present. Aciculae absent. Capillary chaetae hair-like; smooth. Spines absent, or present in most or all chaetigers, or present only in one or a few anterior chaetigers (chaetiger 5); in both notopodia and neuropodia; slightly curved and more-or-less smooth (those in chaetiger 5 robust and may be ornate distally). Hooks present; unprotected, or with a distal hood; occur in many chaetigers in both rami (at least posteriorly).
Tube & burrow. Tube absent or unconsolidated, or membraneous. Burrow traces absent, or irregular borings into calcareous substrata.

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)