Ophryotrocha puerilis

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Ophryotrocha puerilis
A monograph of the British marine annelids 1910 LVI.jpg
Ophryotrocha puerilis at bottom right
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Annelida
Class:
Polychaeta
Order:
Eunicida
Family:
Dorvilleidae
Genus:
Ophryotrocha
Species:
O. puerilis
Binomial name
Ophryotrocha puerilis
Claparède & Mecznikow, 1869 [1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Paractius mutabilis Saint-Joseph, 1888
  • Staurocephalus minimus Langerhans, 1884

Ophryotrocha puerilis is a species of marine polychaete worms in the order Eunicida. It is native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is the type species of the genus Ophryotrocha.[1]

Biology[]

Ophryotrocha puerilis starts life as a male but later changes sex to female. Under certain circumstances it can change back to a male as a result of environmental cues; it switches sex if two female stages are put together, or if the tail of a female stage is removed, but it remains female if kept in isolation.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Read, Geoffrey (2010). "Ophryotrocha puerilis Claparède & Mecznikow, 1869". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  2. ^ Dorresteijn, Adriaan W.C.; Westheide, Wilfried (2013). Reproductive Strategies and Developmental Patterns in Annelids. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 15. ISBN 978-94-017-2887-4.
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