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WoRMS taxon details

Nephtys Cuvier, 1817

129370  (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:129370)

  1. Biota
  2. Animalia (Kingdom)
  3. Annelida (Phylum)
  4. Polychaeta (Class)
  5. Errantia (Subclass)
  6. Phyllodocida (Order)
  7. Phyllodocida incertae sedis (Suborder)
  8. Nephtyidae (Family)
  9. Nephtys (Genus)
accepted
Genus
Aonis Savigny, 1822 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Dentinephtys Imajima & Takeda, 1987 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Diplobranchus Quatrefages, 1866 · unaccepted (objective synonym)
Nephthys [variant spelling of Nephtys] · unaccepted (subsequent misspelling for...)  
subsequent misspelling for original Nephtys
Nepthys [auct. misspelling for Nephtys] · unaccepted > misspelling - incorrect subsequent spelling (subsequent misspelling for...)  
subsequent misspelling for original 'Nephtys'
Nereis (Nephtys) Cuvier, 1817 · unaccepted (superseded incorrect...)  
superseded incorrect recombination as subgenus, as Nephtys is not in Nereididae
Portelia Quatrefages, 1850 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)

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  1. Subgenus Nephtys (Aglaophamus)
    1. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) erectanoides (Hartmann-Schröder, 1965) accepted as Aglaophamus erectanoides Hartmann-Schröder, 1965 (superseded subsequent combination)
    2. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) foliosus (Hartman, 1967) accepted as Aglaophamus foliosus Hartman, 1967 (superseded subsequent combination)
    3. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) heteroserrata (Hartmann-Schröder, 1965) accepted as Aglaophamus heteroserrata Hartmann-Schröder, 1965 (superseded subsequent combination)
    4. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) inermis Ehlers, 1887 accepted as Inermonephtys inermis (Ehlers, 1887) (superseded original combination)
    5. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) lutrea Baird, 1873 accepted as Aglaophamus lutreus (Baird, 1871) (superseded subsequent combination)
    6. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) macroura Schmarda, 1861 accepted as Aglaophamus macroura (Schmarda, 1861) (superseded subsequent combination, using current genus as subgenus)
    7. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) munamaorii Gibbs, 1971 accepted as Aglaophamus munamaorii (Gibbs, 1971) (superseded original combination)
    8. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) ornatus (Hartman, 1967) accepted as Aglaophamus trissophyllus (Grube, 1877) (superseded subsequent combination of subjective synonym)
    9. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) peruana Hartman, 1940 accepted as Aglaophamus peruana (Hartman, 1940) (superseded subsequent combination)
    10. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) polyphara Schmarda, 1861 accepted as Aglaophamus polyphara (Schmarda, 1861) (superseded subsequent combination)
    11. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) posterobranchus (Hartman, 1967) accepted as Aglaophamus posterobranchus Hartman, 1967 (superseded subsequent combination)
    12. Species Nephtys (Aglaophamus) virginis Kinberg, 1865 accepted as Aglaophamus virginis (Kinberg, 1866) (superseded subsequent combination)
  2. Species Nephtys acrochaeta Hartman, 1950
  3. Species Nephtys assignis Hartman, 1950
  4. Species Nephtys assimilis Örsted, 1843
  5. Species Nephtys bangladeshi Hossain & Hutchings, 2016
  6. Species Nephtys bilobatus Kudenov, 1975
  7. Species Nephtys brachycephala Moore, 1903
  8. Species Nephtys brevibranchis Hartmann-Schröder, 1959
  9. Species Nephtys bruuni Kirkegaard, 1995
  10. Species Nephtys bucera Ehlers, 1868
  11. Species Nephtys caeca (Fabricius, 1780)
  12. Species Nephtys caecoides Hartman, 1938
  13. Species Nephtys californiensis Hartman, 1938
  14. Species Nephtys capensis Day, 1953
  15. Species Nephtys chemulpoensis Jung & Hong, 1997
  16. Species Nephtys ciliata (Müller, 1788)
  17. Species Nephtys cirrosa Ehlers, 1868
  18. Species Nephtys cryptomma Harper, 1986
  19. Species Nephtys cuvieri Quatrefages, 1866
  20. Species Nephtys discors Ehlers, 1868
  21. Species Nephtys dussumieri Quatrefages, 1866
  22. Species Nephtys ectopa Chamberlin, 1919
  23. Species Nephtys ferruginea Hartman, 1940
  24. Species Nephtys fluviatilis Monro, 1937
  25. Species Nephtys furcifera Hartmann-Schröder, 1959
  26. Species Nephtys glabra Hartman, 1950
  27. Species Nephtys glossophylla Schmarda, 1861
  28. Species Nephtys gravieri Augener, 1913
  29. Species Nephtys hombergii Savigny in Lamarck, 1818
  30. Species Nephtys hudsonica Chamberlin, 1920
  31. Species Nephtys hystricis McIntosh, 1900
  32. Species Nephtys imbricata Grube, 1857
  33. Species Nephtys impressa Baird, 1871
  34. Species Nephtys incisa Malmgren, 1865
  35. Species Nephtys inornata Rainer & Hutchings, 1977
  36. Species Nephtys kersivalensis McIntosh, 1908
  37. Species Nephtys longipes Stimpson, 1856
  38. Species Nephtys longosetosa Örsted, 1842
  39. Species Nephtys magellanica Augener, 1912
  40. Species Nephtys mesobranchia Rainer & Hutchings, 1977
  41. Species Nephtys monilibranchiata Rozbaczylo & Castilla, 1974
  42. Species Nephtys monroi Hartman, 1950
  43. Species Nephtys multicirrata Hartmann-Schröder, 1960
  44. Species Nephtys neopolybranchia Imajima & Takeda, 1987
  45. Species Nephtys oculata Hartmann-Schröder, 1959
  46. Species Nephtys panamensis Monro, 1928
  47. Species Nephtys paradoxa Malm, 1874
  48. Species Nephtys pente Rainer, 1984
  49. Species Nephtys phasuki Nateewathana & Hylleberg, 1986
  50. Species Nephtys phyllocirra Ehlers, 1887
  51. Species Nephtys picta Ehlers, 1868
  52. Species Nephtys polybranchia Southern, 1921
  53. Species Nephtys punctata Hartman, 1938
  54. Species Nephtys quatrefagesi (Kinberg, 1866)
  55. Species Nephtys rickettsi Hartman, 1938
  56. Species Nephtys sachalinensis Alalykina & Dnestrovskaya, 2015
  57. Species Nephtys schmitti Hartman, 1938
  58. Species Nephtys semiverrucosa Rainer & Hutchings, 1977
  59. Species Nephtys serrata Imajima & Takeda, 1987
  60. Species Nephtys simoni Perkins, 1980
  61. Species Nephtys singularis Hartman, 1950
  62. Species Nephtys sinopensis Kuş, Kurt & Çinar, 2021
  63. Species Nephtys spiribranchis Ehlers, 1918
  64. Species Nephtys squamosa Ehlers, 1887
  65. Species Nephtys sukumoensis Kitamori, 1960
  66. Species Nephtys triangula Dixon-Bridges, Gladstone & Hutchings, 2014
  67. Species Nephtys tulearensis Fauvel, 1919
  68. Species Nephtys yuryi Dnestrovskaya, 2017
  69. Species Nephtys abranchiata Ehlers, 1913 accepted as Micronephthys abranchiata (Ehlers, 1913) (unaccepted > superseded combination, superseded subsequent combination)
  70. Species Nephtys australiensis Fauchald, 1965 accepted as Aglaophamus australiensis (Fauchald, 1965) (superseded original combination)
  71. Species Nephtys bononensis Quatrefages, 1850 accepted as Nephtys caeca (Fabricius, 1780) (subjective synonym)
  72. Species Nephtys borealis Örsted, 1843 accepted as Nephtys ciliata (Müller, 1788)
  73. Species Nephtys cornuta Berkeley & Berkeley, 1945 accepted as Micronephthys cornuta (Berkeley & Berkeley, 1945) (superseded original combination (correct genus spelling))
  74. Species Nephtys danida Nateewathana & Hylleberg, 1986 accepted as Micronephthys danida (Nateewathana & Hylleberg, 1986) (superseded original combination)
  75. Species Nephtys dibranchis Grube, 1877 accepted as Aglaophamus dibranchis (Grube, 1877) (superseded original combination)
  76. Species Nephtys elamellata Eliason, 1951 accepted as Aglaophamus elamellatus (Eliason, 1951) (unaccepted > superseded combination, superseded original combination (genus spelling corrected))
  77. Species Nephtys inermis Ehlers, 1887 accepted as Inermonephtys inermis (Ehlers, 1887) (superseded original combination)
  78. Species Nephtys lyrochaeta Fauvel, 1902 accepted as Aglaophamus lyrochaeta (Fauvel, 1902) (synonym via genus original spelling)
  79. Species Nephtys macroura Schmarda, 1861 accepted as Aglaophamus macroura (Schmarda, 1861) (unaccepted > superseded combination, superseded subsequent combination, genus spelling corrected)
  80. Species Nephtys malmgreni Théel, 1879 accepted as Aglaophamus malmgreni (Théel, 1879) (unaccepted > superseded combination, superseded subsequent combination)
  81. Species Nephtys minuta (Théel, 1879) accepted as Micronephthys minuta (Théel, 1879) (superseded recombination (strictly a subsequent generic spelling))
  82. Species Nephtys mirocirris Fauchald, 1965 accepted as Nephtys gravieri Augener, 1913 (subjective synonym)
  83. Species Nephtys neotena (Noyes, 1980) accepted as Micronephthys neotena (Noyes, 1980) (superseded recombination)
  84. Species Nephtys oligobranchia Southern, 1921 accepted as Micronephthys oligobranchia (Southern, 1921) (superseded original combination (Southern's genus spelling Nephthys))
  85. Species Nephtys palatii Gravier, 1904 accepted as Micronephthys palatii (Gravier, 1904) (superseded original combination (correct genus spelling))
  86. Species Nephtys parva Clark & Jones, 1955 accepted as Micronephthys cornuta (Berkeley & Berkeley, 1945) (subjective synonym)
  87. Species Nephtys pulchra Rainer, 1991 accepted as Aglaophamus pulcher (Rainer, 1991) (superseded original combination)
  88. Species Nephtys rubella Michaelsen, 1897 accepted as Aglaophamus agilis (Langerhans, 1880) (corrected spelling (originally as Nephthys) and subsequent subjective synonym)
  89. Species Nephtys serratifolia Ehlers, 1897 accepted as Nephtys imbricata Grube, 1857 (subjective synonym)
  90. Species Nephtys serratus Hartman, 1953 accepted as Nephtys imbricata Grube, 1857 (subjective synonym)
  91. Species Nephtys signifera Hilbig, 1992 accepted as Nephtys ferruginea Hartman, 1940 (subjective synonym)
  92. Species Nephtys sinensis Fauvel, 1932 accepted as Aglaophamus sinensis (Fauvel, 1932) (superseded original combination (as Nephthys))
  93. Species Nephtys sphaerocirrata (Wesenberg-Lund, 1949) accepted as Micronephthys sphaerocirrata (Wesenberg-Lund, 1949) (superseded combination)
  94. Species Nephtys vikingensis Paxton, 1974 accepted as Nephtys longipes Stimpson, 1856 (subjective synonym)
  95. Species Nephtys zatsepini Jirkov, 1986 accepted as Nephtys pente Rainer, 1984 (subjective synonym)
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
recent only
Cuvier, Georges L., 1817. Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée. VOLUME 4. Les Zoophytes, les Tables, et les Planches. Deterville, Paris., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/17709
page(s): Additions & Corrections p.173 [details] 
Note Type species generally said to be Nephtys...  
From editor or global species database
Type species Type species generally said to be Nephtys hombergii Savigny MS in Lamarck (1818). Savigny (1822) as finally published refers to "Nephthys Hombergii. Cuv. Collect. et Règn; anim. tom. IV, pag. 173". However, N. hombergii is not mentioned at all by Cuvier (1817). Cuvier (1817) introduced in "especes de Nephtys" the following six species listed as their original names in Nereis. (Nereis ciliata [Muller, 1776 = Nephtys], Nereis stellifera [Muller, 1788 = Sigalion], Nereis alba [Muller 1776 = Glycera], Nereis maculata [Linnaeus, 1767 = Phyllodoce], Nereis crassa [Gmelin in Linnaeus, 1788 = Nereis], and 'peut-etre aussi' Nereis punctata [Müller, 1788 = Nereimyra]). Thus N. hombergii was not originally included and cannot be the type species (ICZN Art.67.2) unless it is a synonym of one of the originally included species. Only Nephtys ciliata seems eligible for type species status.
 [details]
Etymology If Cuvier and Lamarck derived 'Nephtys' from the mythological 'Nephthys', the spelling used by some taxonomists,...  
Etymology If Cuvier and Lamarck derived 'Nephtys' from the mythological 'Nephthys', the spelling used by some taxonomists, influentially including Savigny in "Description de l'Égypte ..." (finally published 1822), then they used a variant spelling of the name adopted in Greek for an Egyptian goddess, transliterated from heiroglyphs as Nebet-het, sister of Isis and Osiris, and companion of Set (see e.g., Wikipedia on Nephthys ).  [details]
Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2025). World Polychaeta Database. Nephtys Cuvier, 1817. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=129370 on 2025-07-17
Date
action
by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z
created
Bellan, Gérard
2008-03-26 11:36:43Z
changed
Fauchald, Kristian
2008-07-16 08:06:51Z
changed
Fauchald, Kristian
2012-10-25 00:07:53Z
changed
Read, Geoffrey
2017-09-05 01:53:38Z
changed
Read, Geoffrey

Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License


Nomenclature

original description Cuvier, Georges L., 1817. Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée. VOLUME 4. Les Zoophytes, les Tables, et les Planches. Deterville, Paris., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/17709
page(s): Additions & Corrections p.173 [details] 

original description (of Dentinephtys Imajima & Takeda, 1987) Imajima, Minoru; Takeda, Yasuyo. (1987). Nephtyidae (Polychaeta) from Japan. II. The genera Dentinephtys and Nephtys. <em>Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Ser. A (Zoology).</em> 13(2): 41-77., available online at https://www.kahaku.go.jp/english/research/publication/zoology/v13_2.html, https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/publication/zoology/download/13-2/BNSM130202.pdf
page(s): 43 [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

original description (of Portelia Quatrefages, 1850) Quatrefages, Armand de. (1850). Sur la respiration des annélides. <em>Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Paris.</em> Série 3, 14: 290-301., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13433737
page(s): 292 [details] 

original description (of Aonis Savigny, 1822) Savigny, Jules-César. (1822). Système des annélides, principalement de celles des côtes de l'Égypte et de la Syrie, offrant les caractères tant distinctifs que naturels des Ordres, Familles et Genres, avec la Description des Espèces. <em>Description de l'Égypte ou Recueil des Observations et des Recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'Expédition de l'Armée Française, publié par les Ordres de sa Majesté l'Empereur Napoléon le Grand, Histoire Naturelle, Paris.</em> 1(3):1–128., available online at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41329897
page(s): 45 [details] OpenAccess publication

original description (of Diplobranchus Quatrefages, 1866) Quatrefages, A. de. (1866 (1865)). Histoire naturelle des Annelés marins et d'eau douce. Annélides et Géphyriens. <em>Librarie Encyclopédique de Roret. Paris.</em> <b>Volume 1.</b> 1-588., available online at http://books.google.com/books?id=FV9IAAAAYAAJ
page(s): 433 [details] OpenAccess publication

Identification resource

identification resource Dixon-Bridges, Kylie; Gladstone, William; Hutchings, Patricia A. (2014). One new species of <em>Micronephthys</em> Friedrich, 1939 and one new species of <em>Nephtys</em> Cuvier, 1817 (Polychaeta: Phyllodocida: Nephtyidae) from eastern Australia with notes on <em>Aglaophamus</em> <em>australiensis</em> (Fauchald, 1965) and a key to all Australian species. <em>Zootaxa.</em> 3872(5): 513-540., available online at https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3872.5.5
page(s): 531 [tabulation of Australian and Indo-pacific species of Nephtys]] [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

identification resource Hossain, M. Belal; Hutchings, Pat. (2016). <em>Nephtys bangladeshi</em> n. sp., a new species of Nephtyidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) from Bangladesh coastal waters. <em>Zootaxa.</em> 4079(1): 41-52., available online at http://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4079.1.3
page(s): 48; note: Table of Indo-Pacific Nephtys species [details] 

Other

additional source Fauchald, K. (1977). The polychaete worms, definitions and keys to the orders, families and genera. <em>Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Los Angeles, CA (USA), Science Series.</em> 28:1-188., available online at http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/123110.pdf [details] 

additional source Bellan, G. (2001). Polychaeta, <i>in</i>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. <em>Collection Patrimoines Naturels.</em> 50: 214-231. (look up in IMIS) [details] 

additional source Day, J. H. (1967). [Errantia] A monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa. Part 1. Errantia. British Museum (Natural History), London. pp. vi, 1–458, xxix., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/8596 [details] 

additional source Glasby, Christopher J.; Read, Geoffrey B.; Lee, Kenneth E.; Blakemore, R.J.; Fraser, P.M.; Pinder, A.M.; Erséus, C.; Moser, W.E.; Burreson, E.M.; Govedich, F.R.; Davies, R.W.; Dawson, E.W. (2009). Phylum Annelida: bristleworms, earthworms, leeches. <em>[Book chapter].</em> Chapt 17, pp. 312-358. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. [details] Available for editors  PDF available [request]

 
 Present  Inaccurate  Introduced: alien  Containing type locality 
   

From editor or global species database
Etymology If Cuvier and Lamarck derived 'Nephtys' from the mythological 'Nephthys', the spelling used by some taxonomists, influentially including Savigny in "Description de l'Égypte ..." (finally published 1822), then they used a variant spelling of the name adopted in Greek for an Egyptian goddess, transliterated from heiroglyphs as Nebet-het, sister of Isis and Osiris, and companion of Set (see e.g., Wikipedia on Nephthys ).  [details]

Habitat Open softshore beaches, but also offshore to deepsea [details]

Spelling Cuvier first edition "Le Règne Animal ..." (1817 vol.4, p.173) introduces Nephtys, and Lamarck (1818:314) follows that spelling, whether or not it is the same as in Savigny's MS, whereas subsequent 1830 and 1836 editions of Cuvier use the spelling Nephthys as in the Greek form of the name. As finally published Savigny's "Description de l'Égypte ..." (1822) has the Nephthys form. The spelling Nephtys as first published must be followed, and for example Quatrefages (1866:420) adheres to that spelling. But others did not. Prevailing usage today follows the original spelling. [details]

Type species Type species generally said to be Nephtys hombergii Savigny MS in Lamarck (1818). Savigny (1822) as finally published refers to "Nephthys Hombergii. Cuv. Collect. et Règn; anim. tom. IV, pag. 173". However, N. hombergii is not mentioned at all by Cuvier (1817). Cuvier (1817) introduced in "especes de Nephtys" the following six species listed as their original names in Nereis. (Nereis ciliata [Muller, 1776 = Nephtys], Nereis stellifera [Muller, 1788 = Sigalion], Nereis alba [Muller 1776 = Glycera], Nereis maculata [Linnaeus, 1767 = Phyllodoce], Nereis crassa [Gmelin in Linnaeus, 1788 = Nereis], and 'peut-etre aussi' Nereis punctata [Müller, 1788 = Nereimyra]). Thus N. hombergii was not originally included and cannot be the type species (ICZN Art.67.2) unless it is a synonym of one of the originally included species. Only Nephtys ciliata seems eligible for type species status.
 [details]
    Definitions

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LanguageName 
English shimmy wormsRed-lined wormcatworms  [details]
German Opalwürmer  [details]
Russian Нефтис  [details]
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Nephtys) 
To Genbank (from synonym Dentinephtys Imajima & Takeda, 1987)
To Genbank 
To The Arctic Traits Database (30 traits) 
To Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (YPM IZ 098055) 
To ITIS
Unreviewed
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