Micronephthys Friedrich, 1939

Murray, Anna, Wong, Eunice & Hutchings, Pat, 2015, Nephtyidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) of Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Zootaxa 4019 (1), pp. 414-436 : 419-421

Genus Micronephthys Friedrich, 1939

Micronephthys .— Hartman 1950: 130; Fauchald 1977: 96 –97; Paxton 1974: 204; Rainer & Kaly 1988: 696; Ravara et al. 2010b: 23 –24.

Type-species. Micronephthys minuta (Théele, 1879) , by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Body of small size. Antennae and palps present. Pharynx with subterminal papillae, middorsal papilla present or absent, proximal region smooth or with verrucae. Nuchal organs round. Branchiae absent or, if present, reduced, nearly straight and present on few chaetigers only. Acicular lobes conical, pre- and postacicular lobes rudimentary, neuropodial postacicular lobes reduced or absent. First chaetiger not reduced, similar to remaining ones. Barred chaetae present or absent. Lyrate chaetae present or absent. Aciculae of median and posterior parapodia with curved tips.

Remarks. As remarked by Dixon-Bridges et al. (2014), following the modified generic diagnosis of Ravara et al. (2010b), some branchiate Micronephthys species that lack lyrate chaetae may be mistaken for small or juvenile Nephtys specimens. However, reduced or rudimentary parapodial lobes and few pairs of branchiae are features of such Micronephthys species, and as such should distinguish them from Nephtys specimens, in which well developed parapodial lobes and numerous branchiae exist even in small specimens.