Nectoneanthes Imajima, 1972, which has been regarded as a synonym of
Neanthes Kinberg, 1865 and later of
Alitta Kinberg, 1865, is resurrected in the present study, with evidence showing that the type species of
Nectoneanthes (
N. oxypoda Marenzeller, 1879) is not a synonym of
Neanthes succinea (Leuckart, 1847), but a valid species.
Nectoneanthes oxypoda and
Neanthes succinea are redescribed with newly found characteristics. The following seven species are judged as junior synonyms of
Nectoneanthes oxypoda:
Nectoneanthes latipoda Paik, 1973;
Nectoneanthes multignatha Wu, Sun and Yang, 1981;
Nectoneanthes donghaiensis He, 1987;
Nereis ijimai Izuka, 1912;
Nereis alatopalpis Wesenberg-Lund, 1949;
Nereis singularis Wesenberg-Lund, 1949, and
Nereis (Nereis) legeri Gravier and Dantan, 1934.
Nectoneanthes is composed of two species:
Nectoneanthes oxypoda and
Nectoneanthes uchiwa sp. nov. which is described here. The combination Neanthes succinea is also resurrected, reversing the placement in
Alitta.
Neanthes succinea seems to have been introduced recently to Asia and Australia