Genus of annelid worms
Nereis is agenus ofpolychaeteworms in the familyNereididae. It comprises many species, most of which aremarine.Nereis possesssetae andparapodia for locomotion and gas exchange.[1] They may have two types of setae, which are found on the parapodia. Acicular setae provide support. Locomotor setae are for crawling, and are the bristles that are visible on the exterior of the Polychaeta. They are cylindrical in shape, found not only in sandy areas, and they are adapted to burrow. They often cling to seagrass (posidonia) or other grass on rocks and sometimes gather in large groups.
Nereis worms are commonly known as rag worms or clam worms. The body is long, slender, and dorso-ventrally flattened, reaching a length of 5-30 cm. The head consists of two parts: a roughly triangular anterior lobe—the prostomium—and a posterior ring-like portion—the peristomium.[2] The latter bears four pairs of tentacular cirri, dorsally two pairs of eyes, and ventrally a pair of short two-jointed palps.
The scientific Latin genus nameNereis derives from the Ancient Greek Νηρηΐς : Nērēís (stem Νηρηΐδ- : Nērēid), a sea nymph.
Nereis areosmoconformers. They aredioecious (individuals are male or female) and they release theirhaploid gametes into the water, a process calledspawning. Moreover, upon fertilization andmitotic divisions of thezygote, Nereids form a larval stage which is similar to that ofmolluscs – i.e. atrochophorelarva.
The genusNereis contains the following species:[3]
- Nereis abbreviataHolly, 1935
- Nereis abyssaImajima, 2009
- Nereis abyssicola(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis acustrisLinnaeus, 1767
- Nereis aegyptia(Savignyin Lamarck, 1818)
- Nereis aestuarensisKnox, 1951
- Nereis aibuhitensis(Grube, 1878)
- Nereis albipesGrube, 1873
- Nereis allenaePettibone, 1956
- Nereis amoyensis(Treadwell, 1936)
- Nereis angelensisFauchald, 1972
- Nereis angusta(Kinberg, 1866)
- Nereis angusticollisAugener, 1913
- Nereis angusticollisKinberg, 1866
- Nereis annularisBlainville, 1818
- Nereis anoculisHartman, 1960
- Nereis anoculopsisFauchald, 1972
- Nereis anodontaSchmarda, 1861
- Nereis antipodaKnox, 1960
- Nereis apaliaeWilson, 1985
- Nereis arenaceodonta
- Nereis arroyensisTreadwell, 1901
- Nereis atlanticaMcIntosh, 1885
- Nereis augeneriGravier & Dantan, 1934
- Nereis badiotorquata(Grube, 1878)
- Nereis baliensis(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis baolingiLeon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2000
- Nereis batjanensis(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis bifidaHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis bipartita(Bobretzky, 1868)
- Nereis blainvilleidelle Chiaje, 1828
- Nereis broaLana & Sovierzovsky, 1987
- Nereis buitendijki(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis caecoidesHartman, 1965
- Nereis caeruleaLinnaeus, 1758
- Nereis cagliariKinberg, 1866
- Nereis calamusRenier, 1804
- Nereis callaona(Grube, 1857)
- Nereis capartiFauvel, 1953
- Nereis casoaeLeon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2001
- Nereis castelnauiQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis caudata
- Nereis caudipunctata(Grube, 1857)
- Nereis caymanensisFauchald, 1977
- Nereis chlorodesBlanchardin Gay, 1849
- Nereis chrysocephalaPallas, 1788
- Nereis cirrhigeraViviani, 1805
- Nereis cirrisetaHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis cockburnenesisAugener, 1913
- Nereis contortaDalyell, 1853
- Nereis corallinaKinberg, 1866
- Nereis cornutaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis costaricaensisDean, 2001
- Nereis coutieriGravier, 1900
- Nereis coutieriGravier, 1899
- Nereis crassaGmelinin Linnaeus, 1788
- Nereis croceaRenier, 1804
- Nereis cupreadelle Chiaje, 1822
- Nereis cuprea(Schmarda, 1861)
- Nereis cylindraria
- Nereis dakarensisFauvel, 1951
- Nereis dayanaSun & Shenin Sun, Wu & Shen, 1978
- Nereis delagicaGmelinin Linnaeus, 1788
- Nereis delicatulaBlanchardin Gay, 1849
- Nereis delliKnox, 1960
- Nereis denhamensisAugener, 1913
- Nereis donghaiensisHe & Wu, 1988
- Nereis dorsolobataHartmann-Schröder, 1965
- Nereis edwardsiidelle Chiaje, 1828
- Nereis ehlersiana(Grube, 1878)
- Nereis ehrenbergiGrube, 1868
- Nereis erythraeensis
- Nereis falcaria(Willey, 1905)
- Nereis falsaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis fauchaldiLeon-Gonzalez & Diaz-Castaneda, 1998
- Nereis fauveliGravier & Dantan, 1934
- Nereis filicaudataFauvel, 1951
- Nereis foliosaSchmarda, 1861
- Nereis fossaeFauchald, 1972
- Nereis frontalisBosc, 1802
- Nereis funchalensis(Langerhans, 1880)
- Nereis fusiferaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis garwoodiGonzalez-Escalante & Salazar-Vallejo, 2003
- Nereis gayiBlanchardin Gay, 1849
- Nereis ghardaqaeHartmann-Schröder, 1960
- Nereis giganteaLinnaeus, 1767
- Nereis gisserana(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis goajiranaAugener, 1933
- Nereis gracilis(Hansen, 1878)
- Nereis granulataDay, 1957
- Nereis gravieriFauvel, 1900
- Nereis gravieriFauvel, 1902
- Nereis grayiPettibone, 1956
- Nereis grubei(Kinberg, 1866)
- Nereis guangdongensisWu, Sun & Yang, 1981
- Nereis heterocirrataTreadwell, 1931
- Nereis heteromorpha(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis heterophyllaChamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821
- Nereis heteropodaChamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821
- Nereis holochaetaIntes & Le Loeuff, 1975
- Nereis homogomphaRullier, 1972
- Nereis huanghaiensisWu, Sun & Yang, 1981
- Nereis icosiensisGravier & Dantan, 1928
- Nereis ignotaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis imajimaiLeon-Gonzalez & Diaz-Castaneda, 1998
- Nereis imbecillisGrube, 1840
- Nereis imperfectaGravier & Dantan, 1936
- Nereis inflataLeon-Gonzalez & Solis-Weiss, 2001
- Nereis irisStimpson, 1854
- Nereis irrorata
- Nereis izukaiOkuda, 1939
- Nereis jacksoniKinberg, 1866
- Nereis krebsiiGrube, 1857
- Nereis lamellosaEhlers, 1864
- Nereis languidaKinberg, 1866
- Nereis latescensChamberlin, 1919
- Nereis leucaChamberlin, 1919
- Nereis ligulataHilbig, 1992
- Nereis lineatadelle Chiaje, 1827
- Nereis lingulataHilbig, 1992
- Nereis lithothamnicaAnnenkova, 1938
- Nereis litoralisLeachin Johnston, 1865
- Nereis longilingulisMonro, 1937
- Nereis longiorChlebovitsch & Wu, 1962
- Nereis longisetisMcIntosh, 1885
- Nereis macropisEhlers, 1920
- Nereis maculosaRenier, 1804
- Nereis madreporae
- Nereis margaritaMontagu, 1804
- Nereis marginataGrube, 1857
- Nereis mariaeHolly, 1935
- Nereis marioniAudouin & Milne-Edwards, 1833
- Nereis maroccensisAmoureux, 1976
- Nereis maxillodentataHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis mediatorChamberlin, 1918
- Nereis mendocinanaChamberlin, 1919
- Nereis microceraQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis minimaLamarck, 1801
- Nereis mirabilisKinberg, 1866
- Nereis mollisLinnaeus, 1761
- Nereis monocerosDalyell, 1853
- Nereis monroiReish, 1953
- Nereis moroccensisAmoureux, 1976
- Nereis mortenseniAugener, 1923
- Nereis multignathaImajima & Hartman, 1964
- Nereis myersiHolly, 1935
- Nereis nancauricaEhlers, 1904
- Nereis nanciaeDay, 1949
- Nereis natansHartman, 1936
- Nereis neoneanthesHartman, 1948
- Nereis neozealanicaKnox, 1951
- Nereis nichollsiKott, 1951
- Nereis nigripesEhlers, 1868
- Nereis noctilucaLinnaeus, 1761
- Nereis nouhuysiHorst, 1918
- Nereis obscuraGravier & Dantan, 1934
- Nereis ochoticaGrube, 1850
- Nereis ockeniidelle Chiaje, 1828
- Nereis octentaculataMontagu, 1804
- Nereis oligohalina(Rioja, 1946)
- Nereis onychophoraHorst, 1918
- Nereis ottodelle Chiaje, 1828
- Nereis ovariusRead, 1980
- Nereis pachychaetaFauvel, 1919
- Nereis panamensisFauchald, 1977
- Nereis pannosa(Grube, 1857)
- Nereis parabifidaHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis paucignathaHartman, 1940
- Nereis paulinaGrube, 1868
- Nereis pectinataDalyell, 1853
- Nereis pelagicaLinnaeus, 1758
- Nereis perivisceralisClaparède, 1868
- Nereis peroniensisKott, 1951
- Nereis persicaFauvel, 1911
- Nereis peruvianaEhlers, 1868
- Nereis phosphorescensQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis phyllophorusRoss, 1819
- Nereis pinnataMüller, 1776
- Nereis piscesaeBlake & Hillbig, 1990
- Nereis posidoniaeHutchings & Rainer, 1979
- Nereis proceraEhlers, 1868
- Nereis profundiKirkegaard, 1956
- Nereis pseudomoniliformisSantos & Lana, 2003
- Nereis pulsatoria(Savigny, 1822)
- Nereis punctataDalyell, 1853
- Nereis puncturataGrube, 1857
- Nereis quadricornadelle Chiaje, 1841
- Nereis quoyiiQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis radiataVivianiin Grube, 1850
- Nereis ranzanidelle Chiaje, 1828
- Nereis ravaEhlers, 1864
- Nereis regiaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis rigidaGrube, 1857
- Nereis riiseiGrube, 1857
- Nereis robustaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis rufaPennant, 1812
- Nereis ruptaQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis sandersiBlake, 1985
- Nereis sarsoensisHartmann-Schröder, 1960
- Nereis schmardaeHartmann-Schröder, 1962
- Nereis scolopendrinaBlainville, 1825
- Nereis scolopendroidesHansen, 1882
- Nereis segrexChamberlin, 1919
- Nereis semperiana(Grube, 1878)
- Nereis serrataSantos & Lana, 2003
- Nereis sertularias
- Nereis sieboldiiGrube, 1873
- Nereis sinensisWu, Sun & Yang, 1981
- Nereis singularisWesenberg-Lund, 1949
- Nereis spinigeraHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis splendidaBlainville, 1825
- Nereis splendidaGrube, 1840
- Nereis sumbawaensis(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis surugaenseImajima, 1972
- Nereis talehsapensisFauvel, 1932
- Nereis tenuipalpaPflugfelder, 1933
- Nereis tenuisWebster & Benedict, 1884
- Nereis tethycoladelle Chiaje, 1831
- Nereis thompsoni(Kott, 1951)
- Nereis thysanotaEhlers, 1920
- Nereis tiedmannidelle Chiaje, 1841
- Nereis tigrinaZachs, 1933
- Nereis toporokiKhlebovich, 1996
- Nereis tortaFauvel, 1934
- Nereis translucensQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis triangularisHutchings & Turvey, 1982
- Nereis tydemani(Horst, 1924)
- Nereis unciaHolly, 1935
- Nereis usticensisCantone, Catalono & Badalamenti, 2003
- Nereis variegataRenier, 1804
- Nereis veleronisHartman, 1940
- Nereis ventilabrumQuatrefages, 1866
- Nereis vexillosaGrube, 1851
- Nereis victorianaAugener, 1918
- Nereis villosaDalyell, 1853
- Nereis vitiensisGrube, 1870
- Nereis willeyDay, 1934
- Nereis zhongshaensisShen & Sunin Sun, Wu & Shen, 1978
- Nereis zonataMalmgren, 1867