Grube, 1848

Description
Small (2-60 mm) pelagic polychaetes, flattened and delicate, transparent in life. Prostomium with prominent laterally directed antennae, a pair of nuchal organs and, normally, a pair of eyes. First pair of parapodial appendages often lost in the adult. Second segment with long cirrus-like appendages which are supported by an acicula.
Parapodia biramous, without chaetae or aciculae. Noto- and neuropodia oar-shaped. Dorsal and ventral cirri absent. Body in some species with a posterior tail region with rudimentary parapodia.
Pharynx is eversible, unarmed.
Pygidium without cirri [Tomopteridae ].
Tomopterids are carnivores preying upon other zooplankton and may be found both near surface and at considerable depths in ocean waters. They swim vigorously by rapid beating of the parapodia and may undergo diurnal vertical migrations, rising to the surface at night.

[after Hayward and Ryland, 1990; Pleijel and Dales, 1991]


Two species of the Tompteridae are included in this volume:

Tomopteris helgolandica
Tomopteris septentrionalis

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Annelida
Class Polychaeta
Family Tomopteridae

Sorry, there are no scientific synonyms and common names available for this taxon

de Kluijver, M., S.S. Ingalsuo, A.J.L. van Nieuwenhuizen and H.H. Veldhuijzen van Zanten, 2000. Macrobenthos of the North Sea. Vol. II - Keys to Polychaeta, Nemertina, Sipuncula, Platyhelminthes and miscellaneous worm-like groups. World Biodiversity database, CD-ROM Series. Expert Centre for Taxonomic Identifications (ETI), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.

Hartmann-Schröder, G., 1996. Annelida, Borstenwürmer, Polychaeta. Tierwelt Deutschlands, 58: 1-648.

Hayward, P.J. and J.S. Ryland, 1990. Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Kirkegaard, J.B., 1992. Havbørsteorme I. Danmarks Fauna, 83: 1-416.

Muus, B.J., 1953b. Polychaeta. Families: Tomopteridae and Typhoscolecidae. Fiches d'Identification du Zooplancton, 53 (1953). Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer, Kopenhagen.

Pleijel, F. and R.P. Dales, 1991. Polychaetes: British phyllodocoideans, typhloscolecoideans and tomopteroideans. Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series), 45. 202 pp.

You can continue searching for Family Tomopteridae on one of these Web sites:

Fauna Europaea (animals) | IOPI (plants) | NCBI (genetic)

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