Nephasoma flagriferum (Selenka, 1885)

Saiz-Salinas, J. I., 2007, Sipunculans and echiurans from the deep Angola Basin, Journal of Natural History 41 (45 - 48), pp. 2789-2800 : 2793-2794

Nephasoma flagriferum (Selenka, 1885)

Material. Sta. GKG no. 345/7, one; Sta. AT no. 347, five+fragments; Sta. AT no. 349, two; Sta. AT no. 351, three.

Description. Trunk 85–105 mm long. Trunk width: 2–4 mm. Introvert a little shorter. Its width 2 mm. Tail of 4–10 mm long. Bladder-like papillae around the posterior end, about 0.5 mm in diameter. Hooks absent. Two retractor muscles originate in the anterior-middle third of the trunk. Nephridiopores 1 mm in front of the anus.

Remarks. This species is distinctive because of the presence of a tail at the end of the trunk. The lack of hooks and the presence of bladder-like papillae along the posterior part of the trunk distinguish this species from other tailed Nephasoma . The species is mainly known from bathyal and abyssal bottoms of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It has been found near the investigated area by Cutler (1977) in the Gulf of Guinea at abyssal depths.