Eucranta

Eucranta
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Clade:	Pleistoannelida
Subclass:	Errantia
Order:	Phyllodocida
Family:	Polynoidae
Genus:	Eucranta; Malmgren, 1865
Type species
	Eucranta villosa; Malmgren, 1865

Eucranta is a genus of marine annelids in the family Polynoidae (scale worms). The genus includes 5 species which are globally distributed from depths of about 40 to 600 m, mostly from high latitudes in the northern and southern hemispheres.^[1]

Description

Body short, 39 segments, 16 pairs of elytra. Anterior margin of prostomium with a pair of acute anterior peaks. Lateral antennae inserted ventrally (beneath prostomium and median antenna). Palps, antennae, dorsal and ventral cirri with papillae. Notochaetae about as thick as neurochaetae. Unidentate and bidentate neurochaetae present.

Eucranta are short-bodied scale worms with 36 to 40 segments and 15 pairs of elytra. The prostomium is bilobed anteriorly and a pair of cephalic peaks is present. The lateral antennae are located ventrally, directly beneath the median antenna ceratophore. The neuropodial lobes are elongate. The notochaetae are distinctly thicker than the neurochaetae; both are ornamented with transverse rows of small spines. The neurochaetae may be unidentate or bidentate and distinctive furcate neurochae are present.^[2]

Species

The following species of Eucranta are recognised as of September 2020:^[1]

Eucranta anoculata (Moore, 1910)
Eucranta innatans (Chamberlin, 1919)
Eucranta mollis (McIntosh, 1876)
Eucranta notialis Monro, 1936
Eucranta villosa Malmgren, 1865

References

^ ^a ^b Read, Geoffrey B.; Fauchald, Kristian (2020). "The World Polychaeta Database".
^ Barnich R, Orensanz JM, Fiege D (2012) Remarks on some scale worms (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) from the Southwest Atlantic with notes on the genus Eucranta Malmgren, 1866, and description of a new Harmothoe species. Marine Biodiversity 42: 395–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-012-0117-4

[read-1] Read, Geoffrey B.; Fauchald, Kristian (2020). "The World Polychaeta Database".

[barnich_etal_2012-2] Barnich R, Orensanz JM, Fiege D (2012) Remarks on some scale worms (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) from the Southwest Atlantic with notes on the genus Eucranta Malmgren, 1866, and description of a new Harmothoe species. Marine Biodiversity 42: 395–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-012-0117-4

[1]

[2]