| Dorvillea australiensis (McIntosh, 1885). Family Dorvilleidae | ||||
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Dorvillea australiensis head [Click photo for picture page] 
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| Habitat: | Intertidal. Subtidal. Rocky shore. Sheltered to open beaches. Epifaunal. Depth range: 0-60 (m). Salinity regime: Marine only. Microhabitat: Low tide hidden in coralline turf and algal holdfasts. Tube: None. | |||
| Occurrence: | Consistently occurring. Density: 30 (m2).
Distribution in NZ: New Zealand wide. | |||
| Feeding guild: | Surface grazing-herbivore. | |||
| Diagnosis: | Genus Dorvillea in Family Dorvilleidae.
A very large Dorvillea with very high-rounded body section, and a very small head, and long dorsal cirri. Antennae short, about as long as palps. Furcate chaetae of superior neuropodium are absent. Superior chaetae are serrated simple capillaries, inferior chaetae are compound bidentate heterogomph falcigers. Colour: Overall red appearance with red-banded antennae, and red dorsal bands. Palps are unpigmented. Eyes are brownish. Maximum size: 50 mm total length, 5 mm body width. |
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| Notable aspect: | Head is less than one third of peristomial width. Striking red colouration in life. | |||
| Comparisons: | In comparison to other dorvilleids the head is small, and barely extends anterior to the palps, and the antennae short. Eyes are brown rather than red. | |||
| Taxonomy: | McIntosh's original specimen was a single fragment from offshore Bass Strait; the current concept of the species derives mainly from later records. | |||
| Distribution: | Australia and New Zealand | |||
| Biology: | Easily-recognised species more likely to be subtidal, but will occur intertidally in pools and elsewhere if conditions always wet. | |||
| Best References: | Biology: No recommendation. Taxonomy: Glasby (1984) A Review of Dorvillea and Schistomeringos (Annelida: Polychaeta) chiefly from southern and eastern Australia with a description of a new species of Schistomeringos. Proceedings of the First International Polychaete Conf. :98-111, 5 figs. 1 tb. | |||
| More information: |
Synonyms, NZ records | Original figures | Original description details | |
| Genus diagnosis | More pictures | Further references (biology, etc) | Family Dorvilleidae | |
| Internet sources: |
GOOGLE Search | AlltheWeb Search | CISTI | CBIF BiOSC Gateway | GOBASE Molecular | GenBank | Genus only in GenBank | | |||
| Genus only in Ubio Taxonomic Name Server | PubMed | Scirus | Zoological Record | | ||||
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