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Ophiodromus angustifrons			Hesionidae (hesionid) Phyllodocida (Annelida: Polychaeta)

Ophiodromus  angustifrons  (Grube, 1878).   Family Hesionidae
				Ophiodromus angustifrons [Click photo for picture page]
Habitat:	Intertidal. Subtidal. Rocky shore. Open beaches. Epifaunal. Depth range: 0-20 (m). Salinity regime: Harbour-like variation. Microhabitat:  Crevices, holdfasts, shell debris, any free space. Tube: None, or rough cemented cover of debris.
Occurrence:	Common. Density: 100 (m2). Distribution in NZ: New Zealand wide.
Feeding guild:	Surface carnivore.
Diagnosis:	Genus Ophiodromus in Family Hesionidae. Invariably uniform light brown all over. Inconspicuous furcate notochaetae (3-4) in mid-body beneath long dorsal cirrus. Median antenna present, small, frontally inserted (may be broken off). Two pair red eyes with lenses, the anterior pair larger and may appear somewhat figure-8 shaped (around clear lens). Up to 50 chaetigers. Colour: Brown. Maximum size: 18 mm total length, 3 mm body width.
Notable aspect:	Brown. Note that dorsal cirri may be all 'lost' in specimens preserving poorly, as may median antenna.
Comparisons:	Probably the only common inshore hesionid.
Taxonomy:	While O. angustifrons, first described from the Philippines, is the long-established name in usage the valid species name for this very common entity remains to be established and may well change. The former generic name Podarke is an objective junior synonym of Ophiodromus.
Distribution:	Philippines, Australia, New Zealand.
Biology:	Highly agile rapid-moving, even free-swimming species, very common in epifauna, holdfasts, etc.
Best References:	Biology: No recommendation. Taxonomy: Pleijel (1998) Phylogeny and classification of Hesionidae (Polychaeta). Zoologica Scripta 27:89-163..

More  information:	Synonyms,  NZ records	Original figures	Original description details
	Genus diagnosis	More pictures	Further references (biology, etc)	Family Hesionidae
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The information provided by this page and by the pages of the "more information" links is held in a structured form for rapid and frequent updating and improvement. Descriptive text is compiled from a number of database fields, some of which may occasionally be empty. Data last edited 5/07/2004, and page last generated by G. Read, 27/07/2004    (dd/mm/yy)