Gattyana cirrhosa is a scale worm known from widespread locations in the North Atlantic, Arctic, and northwestern Pacific oceans, from the intertidal zone to depths of at least 1,200 m (3,900 ft).[2][3]

Gattyana cirrhosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Phyllodocida
Family: Polynoidae
Genus: Gattyana
Species:
G. cirrhosa
Binomial name
Gattyana cirrhosa
(Pallas, 1766)[1]

Description

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Gattyana cirrhosa is a short-bodied worm with 38 segments and 15 pairs of elytra, which bear a marginal fringe of papillae and are a rich brassy-orange colour. The lateral antennae are positioned ventrally on the prostomium, directly beneath the median antenna. Notochaetae are about as thick as or thinner than the neurochaetae.[2][4]

Biology and ecology

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Gattyana cirrhosa has a commensal relationship with chaetopterid, terebellid, and pectinariid polychaete worms, living within the tubes they construct. However, it is also a free-living taxon.

References

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  1. ^ Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2020). World Polychaeta database. Gattyana cirrhosa (Pallas, 1766). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=130749
  2. ^ a b Pettibone, Marian H. (1963). Marine polychaete worms of the New England region. I. Aphroditidae through Trochochaetidae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 227(1): 1-356., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7870746
  3. ^ Jirkov, I.A. (2001). [Polychaeta of the Arctic Ocean] (In Russian) Polikhety severnogo Ledovitogo Okeana. Yanus-K Press, Moscow, 632 pp., available online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259865957_Jirkov_2001_Polychaeta_of_the_North_Polar_Basin
  4. ^ Fauchald, K.; Wilson, R.S. (2003). "Polynoidae (Polychaeta)-A DELTA database of genera, and Australian species". In R.S. Wilson; P.A. Hutchings; C. J. Glasby (eds.). Polychaetes: An Interactive Identification Guide. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.