Nephtyidae

Nephtyidae is a taxonomic family of polychaete worms.[1] They are commonly referred to as catworms.[2]

Nephtyidae
Nephtys hombergii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Annelida
Class:
Polychaeta
Order:
Phyllodocida
Family:
Nephtyidae
Genera

Aglaophamus
Dentinephtys
Inermonephtys
Micronephthys
Nephtys
Pellucidaria

Characteristics

Nephtyidae are pale, clearly segmented polychaetes with a small pentagonal prostomium with two pairs of small antennae. Their segments are little differentiated and have a rectangular cross-section.[3]
Nephtyids are active predators, with a strong muscular proboscis, armed with two well developed jaws.[4]

They can dig relatively fast through sandy sediments. They can also swim with sinuous movements.[5]

Nepthyidae polychaetes, found off the Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica, 1962.
gollark: Hmm. Maybe.
gollark: Is it though? "Blast" sounds destructive, "atomic" is vaguely negative because people have stupid attitude about nuclear power.
gollark: Actually, it probably varies a lot by culture, hm.
gollark: Most people probably hug someone at least once a year, right?
gollark: Having listened to about 2 minutes of it, I dislike it.

References
  1. "Nephtyidae | NBN Atlas". species.nbnatlas.org. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  2. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Nephtyidae Grube, 1850". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  3. Jirkov, Igor A.; Dnestrovskaya, Nataliya Yu; Alalykina, Inna L. (2017-11-07). "Identification key to Nephtyidae (Annelida) of the Sea of Okhotsk". ZooKeys. 684: 1–18. doi:10.3897/zookeys.684.12180. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 5523181.
  4. "Nephtyidae". www.annelida.net. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  5. "MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network - A catworm (Nephtys hombergii)". www.marlin.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-02.


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