Diopatra nishii, a new brooding species of Onuphidae (Annelida) from Japan
Marine Biodiversity
Publication
A small tubeworm, Diopatra nishii, is newly described
from the shallow waters of Boso Peninsula and Izu
Peninsula, as the second Japanese species of this genus. It
differs from D. sugokai, a common baitworm in Japan, by its
much smaller size, single rather than double postchaetal lobes
on the modified parapodia and direct development in the
parental tube rather than broadcast spawning. Juveniles of
two different stages of the new species were found in a brood
sac in the parental tube; these and recently settled juveniles are
described.