Phyllodocida is an order of polychaete worms in the subclass Aciculata. These worms are mostly marine, though some are found in brackish water. Most are active benthic creatures, moving over the surface or burrowing in sediments, or living in cracks and crevices in bedrock. A few construct tubes in which they live and some are pelagic, swimming through the water column. There are estimated to be more than 4,600 accepted species in the order.
Prosphaerosyllis battiri is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. The species name comes from an Aboriginal word, battiri, meaning 'rough'. Prosphaerosyllis battiri is a species characterized by having only partially fused palps, an unretracted prostomium on its peristomium or showing only slight retraction, the shape of its dorsal cirri and its arrangement of papillae, being numerous anteriorly while less numerous posteriorly. It resembles Prosphaerosyllis semiverrucosa, but its arrangement of dorsal papillae is reversed.
Salvatoria pilkena is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida. It is known to inhabit the tidal mud- and sandflats of the Hinchinbrook Channel in Queensland.
Salvatoria koorineclavata is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. A related species in Australia has been described as Brania clavata and subsequently as Salvatoria clavata. While similar, the Australian species has a longer pharynx and proventricle; at the same time, blades of chaetae are present in the Australian species, with longer and upwards curved spines, which are straight in S. clavata; its pharyngeal tooth is located more anteriorly than in S. clavata. Other global species, like those in the genus Brania, are also similar to S. koorineclavata. Salvatoria californiensis has similar chaetae, with shorter spines and less developed teeth. Its acicula lacks a defined acute tip, and the proventricle is quite shorter, running through 5 segments in S. koorineclavata, with fewer rows of muscle cells. The species name comes from an Aboriginal word, Koorine, meaning "daughter", due to the similarity of the Australian species to the European species of S. clavata.
Erinaceusyllis is a genus belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. Erinaceusyllis is a marine genus, while some of its species are possibly cosmopolitan. Its type species is Erinaceusyllis erinaceus, formerly Sphaerosyllis erinaceus. As of 2015, at least 12 species have been described, namely E. belizensis, E. bidentata, E centroamericana, E. cirripapillata, E. cryptica, E. erinaceus, E ettiennei, E. hartmannschroederae, E horrocksensis, E. kathrynae, E. opisthodentata, E. serratosetosa. The family contains two other genera, Sphaerosyllis and Prosphaerosyllis.
Sphaerosyllis levantina is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. It was first described from Haifa Bay in the eastern Mediterranean. It is similar to Sphaerosyllis hystrix, and is thought to show a cosmopolitan distribution. Its name derives from its type locality, levantina being the feminine form of a Neo-Latin adjective meaning "pertaining to the region where the sun raises"; the adjective is feminine to agree with the feminine genus name, Syllis being a river nymph in Greek mythology.
Erinaceusyllis cirripapillata is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida. It was first found in the mud at a depth of 3 m (9.8 ft) New South Wales' Richmond River.
Erinaceusyllis hartmannschroederae is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida. It is found in the intertidal zone to depths of 15 metres (49 ft). The species is named in honour of Gesa Hartmann-Schröder, an expert on syllid species.
Sphaerosyllis voluntariorum is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. This species is closely related to Sphaerosyllis bifurcata, Sphaerosyllis bifurcatoides and Sphaerosyllis rotundipapillata, all endemic species to Australia, characterized by having large dorsal papillae, sometimes trilobed, and with shafts of compound chaetae distally bifid. S. voluntariorum is more densely papillated on its anterior segments and has a long subdistal spine on the ventral simple chaetae. This species' name alludes to the volunteers of the Marine Invertebrate section of The Australian Museum, who sorted specimens of syllids that led to the description of this animal.
Sphaerosyllis goorabantennata is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. Sphaerosyllis goorabantennata is distinct by its small size, small and unevenly distributed papillae, as well as by its particularly long antennae and tentacular cirri. Sphaerosyllis minima and S. minima magnapapillata are also small, but their antennae and tentacular cirri are significantly shorter, like its cogenerate species. The species' name is derived from the Aboriginal word gooraba, meaning "big", alluding to its long antennae.
Sphaerosyllis georgeharrisoni is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. Sphaerosyllis georgeharrisoni is distinct by its large parapodial glands with hyaline material; by its small size; short proventricle; a median antenna that is inserted posteriorly to the lateral antennae; as well as long pygidial papillae. Juveniles of S. hirsuta are very similar to this species. Sphaerosyllis pygipapillata has all of its antennae aligned, a smooth dorsum, while its pygidial papillae are longer and slender. The species' name honours George Harrison, musician who died prior to the species' describing article's publication.
Parapionosyllis winnunga is a species belonging to the phylum Annelida, a group known as the segmented worms. Parapionosyllis winnunga is characterized by the shape of the blades of its compound chaetae, which have a long subdistal spine, in turn much longer than in other cogenerate species. Its species name is derived from the Aboriginal word winnunga, meaning "small".
Ophryotrocha craigsmithi is a species of polychaete worm. O. craigsmithi is named after Craig R. Smith. This species is similar to Palpiphitime lipovskyae and O. Platykephale, among others, in having branchial structures dorsally and ventrally. It differs from O. platykephale in the shape of its prostomium and parapodia. Palpiphitime lipovskyae has jaws of both P- and K-type, while no specimens of O. craigsmithi have been found with K-type jaws thus far. Ophryotrocha craigsmithi differs from P. lipovskyae genetically, but also by the presence of a prominent ventral chaetal lobe with a bulging simple chaeta in the former.
Ophryotrocha eutrophila, is a species of polychaete worm. Ophryotrocha eutrophila is named after its habitat, liking organically enriched environments. This species resembles O. puerilis in jaw morphology. O. eutrophila is dimorphic, with males being than females, while possessing K-type maxillae. Ophryotrocha eutrophila, however, differs from O. puerilis in the absence of eyes and the presence of a developed median pygidial stylus. O. eutrophila is also similar to O. fabriae, differing from the latter from its mandibles morphology.
Eulalia clavigera is a species of polychaete worm in the family Phyllodocidae, native to the coasts around Britain, through Western France, and to the Iberian Peninsula. It closely resembles Eulalia viridis, and there has been confusion in the past as to the identification of the two species.
Ramisyllis multicaudata is a species of polychaete worm in the family Syllidae. It was found in Darwin Harbour, Australia, where it was living within the tissues of a sponge of the genus Petrosia. It was the second branching species of polychaete worm to have been discovered, the first having been Syllis ramosa, a deep water species, more than a century earlier. In 2022, a second species in R. multicaudata's genus, Ramisyllis kingghidorahi, was described from specimens taken off the coast of Sado Island, Japan.
Leucia is a genus of marine polychaete worms belonging to the family Polynoidae, the scaleworms. Leucia contains 2 species, both found in the northern Atlantic Ocean. This genus is distinguished from the closely related genus Harmothoe by having sixteen pairs of elytra, as opposed to fifteen.
Leucia nivea is a species of polychaete worm, commonly known as a "scale worm", in the family Polynoidae. This species occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Diopatra claparedii is a species of tube-building polychaete worm of the family Onuphidae. It is found dispersed along intertidal and subtidal benthic environments of South Asian waters, especially along the coasts of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. This species is exploited by humans for fishing bait, indication of marine pollution, and as gold and silver nanoparticle biosynthesis agents.
