| Carazziella quadricirrata (Rainer, 1973). Family Spionidae | ||||
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Carazziella quadricirrata figure [Click photo for picture page] 
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| Identification tips: | Pygidial cirri. Distinctive colour pattern(s) present; orange-yellow bars on palps. | |||
| Habitat: | Inshore marine embayment. Known from mollusc shell. In shell crevices. Recorded from living shells of New Zealand commercial shellfish: Atrina pectinata, Ostrea chilensis. Occurrences in empty/dead shell also never reported. | |||
| Nomenclature: | Genus Carazziella in Family Spionidae. Carazziella quadricirrata. Described by Rainer, published in 1973, as Polydora quadricirrata. Type locality: New Zealand, Otago Harbour. Other synonyms: none recorded | |||
| Description: | Head region: Prostomium tip bifurcation absent. Occipital antenna absent. Caruncle extends to anterior chaetiger 4; separate mid-dorsal organ absent. Colouration: Eyes absent. Dorsal pigmentation pattern absent. Palp banding yellow-white bars (orange yellow). White mid-body or posterior dorsal pigmentation absent. Branchiae, chaetae, and pygidium: Branchiae adjoining parapodia 6 and following; longest branchiae on chaetiger 10 or later; near body end branchiae absent. Anterior gut gizzard-like structure absent. Hooded hooks begin chaetiger 7; bifid, hook shaft constriction (manubrium) absent, anterior hooded hook main fang more or less oriented at right angles to the shaft with wide angle to apical tooth. Neurochaetal inferior chaetae below hooded hooks present. Chaetiger one notochaetae present; notopodial lobe present. Chaetae of chaetiger 5 'upper' (or 'posterior') row falcate without ornamentation, 'lower' (or 'anterior') row are cupped, with lateral point or hook. Superior notochaetae of chaetiger 5 absent. Inferior neurochaetae of chaetiger 5 unstated. Posterior notochaetal spines present; mostly acicular. Pygidium with 4 distinct lobes, upper and lower lobes equal-sized (and very small, with haired papillae). | |||
| Dimensions: | Length 9 mm. Width 0.4 mm. Segment total 55. Palps extend to about chaetiger 12. Small species. | |||
| Reproduction: | Active planktonic dispersal. Larval nutrition mostly planktotrophic, with early larval release; poecilogony absent or undetected. Reproductive period unknown but probably long. A simultaneous hermaphrodite. | |||
| Distribution: | Occurs only in New Zealand. Not known to be invasive or anthropochoric. Global distribution includes New Zealand mainland.. | |||
| Remarks: | This species appears not to be closely related to any other Carazziella. | |||
| Biology: | Carazziella quadricirrata is relatively uncommon small shell borer. Feeding group: Surface deposit/filter-feeding. | |||
| Best References: | Biology: Read (1975) Systematics and biology of polydorid species (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from Wellington Harbour.. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 5:395-419 Taxonomy: Rainer (1973) Polydora and related genera (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from Otago waters. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3:545-564. | |||
| More information: |
Synonyms, NZ records | Original figures | Original description details | |
| Genus diagnosis | More pictures | Further references (biology, etc) | Family Spionidae | |
| 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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