The Nereididae (Annelida) – diagnoses, descriptions, and a key to the genera
In: ZooKeys. Pensoft: Sofia. ISSN 1313-2989; e-ISSN 1313-2970, more |   |
| Keywords | Nereididae Blainville, 1818 [WoRMS]; Unanereis macgregori Day, 1962 [WoRMS]; Unanereis zghali Ben Amor, 1980 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal | | Author keywords | Computer taxonomy, diagnosis, identification tools, natural language; descriptions, polychaete, taxonomic verification, Taxonomic Information System |
| Authors | | Top | - Wilson, R.S.
- Glasby, C.J., more
- Bakken, T.
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| Abstract | Nereididae is among the most familiar of marine annelid families, common and well-studied in most marine environments but paradoxically no recent key or identification guide exists to the world’s genera. Here updated generic descriptions, a list of characters, a linear key to genera, and minimal diagnoses that distinguish each genus from all others in the family are provided. This information is generated from a Delta database of 186 morphological characters and a link is provided to downloadable software allowing the same data to be interrogated using the open-source Delta program Intkey – a nonlinear multiple entry point computerised interactive key. For each genus the recent literature is also summarised, comments on taxonomic status provided, and published keys to species cited. Nexus format matrices are provided for all 45 genera and 158 Nereididae species, representing all genera, scored for 146 multistate characters from the same character list to facilitate future phylogenetic studies. |
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