Eunicida
Order of annelid worms
Eunicida is an order of polychaete worms.
01Characteristics
Members of this order have an elongated, segmented body and a distinct head, normally with a separate peristomium and prostomium. Many, but not all, live in tubes which vary from a mucous sheath to a tough, horny casing. The palps vary from globular to cylindrical and there are from 0 to 7 antennae, usually smooth but occasionally jointed. There is a muscular pharynx with a dorsal pair of mandibles and a set of ventral, toothed, maxillary plates. Some species have tentacular cirri and all have unbranched parapodia. In some species, dorsal cirri, branchiae, ventral cirri and chaetae occur, but not in others.
02Fossil record
The Devonian Websteroprion is the largest known fossil eunicidan annelid, with estimated length 1-2 m (3 ft 3 in , 6 ft 7 in). It also had the biggest scolecodonts of any prehistoric polychaete, up to 13.2 mm (0.52 in) in length and possibly larger.
03Families
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) includes the following families in the order:
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Eunicida”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Eunice aphroditois.jpg by Jenny, CC BY 2.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.