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Lumbrineris sphaerocephala			Lumbrineridae (lumbrinerid) Eunicida (Annelida: Polychaeta)

Lumbrineris  sphaerocephala  (Schmarda, 1861).   Family Lumbrineridae
				Lumbrineris sphaerocephala head. [Click photo for picture page]
Habitat:	Intertidal. Subtidal. Rocky shore. Sheltered to open beaches. Infaunal. Epifaunal. Depth range: 0-100 (m). Salinity regime: Harbour-like variation. Microhabitat:  Cryptic in cracks, crevices, and lacunae. Tube: None or possibly a mucous sheet.
Occurrence:	Consistently occurring. Density: 100 (m2). Distribution in NZ: New Zealand wide and offshore.
Feeding guild:	Surface omnivore.
Diagnosis:	Genus Lumbrineris in Family Lumbrineridae. Head is characteristically globular (not conical). Compound hooded hooks present in anterior parapodia along with capillaries; aciculae black; simple hooded hooks in posterior parapodia. Jaw maxilla III minutely bidentate. Colour: Brown-banded or uniformly dark coloured. Maximum size: 110 mm total length, 4 mm body width.
Notable aspect:	Head is characteristically globular. Often dorsal body surface appears to have bands of dark brown.
Comparisons:	An undescribed subtidal Lumbrineris also has a globular head.
Taxonomy:	New Zealand Lumbrineridae are currently being reviewed. However, L. sphaerocephala seems likely to be unaffected by changes.
Distribution:	Endemic. New Zealand.
Biology:	Occurs commonly on all types of shores and in the shallows, and amongst epifauna, algal holdfasts etc. A wide range of habitats.
Best References:	Biology: No recommendation. Taxonomy: Knox and Green (1972) The Polychaetous Annelids of New Zealand Part 2: Lumbrineridae. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2:69-81.

More  information:	Synonyms,  NZ records	Original figures	Original description details
	Genus diagnosis	More pictures	Further references (biology, etc)	Family Lumbrineridae
Internet  sources:	GOOGLE Search |   AlltheWeb Search | CISTI |   CBIF BiOSC Gateway | GOBASE Molecular | GenBank | Genus only in GenBank |
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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 6/07/2004, and page last generated by G. Read, 27/07/2004    (dd/mm/yy)