Diopatra is a genus of polychaete worms in the family Onuphidae.

Diopatra
Diopatra cuprea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Eunicida
Family: Onuphidae
Genus: Diopatra
Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1833 [1]
Species
See text

Description

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Members of this genus live in thick, parchment-like tubes that project from the sediment on the seabed. The tubes are covered on the outside by fragments of shell, algae, fibers and other small objects, collected by the worm and stuck in place by mucus. The worm's tube is a food-catching tool that creates a small micro-reef where small invertebrate prey reside. Diopatra dart partially out of the tube and grasp the prey with their maxillae and mandibles. Their large anterior parapodia help them to immobilize the prey.[2]

Species

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The World Register of Marine Species includes these species in the genus.[1] A 2021 study also identified 4 new species in the south-west Atlantic.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fauchald, Kristian (2010). Read G, Fauchald K (eds.). "Diopatra Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1833". World Polychaeta database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  2. ^ Diopatra Archived 2009-04-22 at the Wayback Machine The Marine Biological Laboratory. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e Seixas, Victor Corrêa; Steiner, Tatiana Menchini; Solé-Cava, Antônio Mateo; Amaral, Antonia Cecília Zacagnini; Paiva, Paulo Cesar (2021). "Hidden diversity within the Diopatra cuprea complex (Annelida: Onuphidae): morphological and genetics analyses reveal four new species in the south-west Atlantic". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (3): 637–671. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa032.