- Oweniidae
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Oweniidae Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Eumetazoa Phylum: Annelida Class: Polychaeta Subclass: Palpata Order: Canalipalpata Suborder: Sabellida Family: Oweniidae
Rioja, 1917Genera See text Oweniidae is a family of marine polychaete worms in the suborder Sabellida. The worms live in tubes made of sand and are selective filter feeders,[1] detrivores and grazers.[2]
Characteristics
Members of this family live in tubes made of sand and shell fragments. The head of the worm does not bear a proboscis but has the mouth at the tip rimmed by some very short tentacles. The body segments lack parapodia and are smooth elongated cylinders. There are a large number of hooked chaetae or bristles on a small pad on the ventral side of each segment. These chaetae have two parallel teeth resembling claws which is a feature that distinguishes members of this family from other polychaetes. The posterior tip bears different appendages in different genera. Family members are unique in having a bell-shaped larval stage known as a mitraria larva. At one time the family was classified as the Ammocharidae.[1]
Genera
- Ammochares
- Clymenia
- Galathowenia Kirkegaard, 1959
- Mitraria
- Myriochele Malmgren, 1867
- Myrioglobula Hartman, 1967
- Myriowenia Hartman, 1960
- Ops
- Owenia Delle Chiaje, 1841
- Psammocollus [2]
References
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