WoRMS taxon details
Ophelina Örsted, 1843
129414 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:129414)
accepted
Genus
Ophelina acuminata Örsted, 1843 (type by monotypy)
Ammotrypane Rathke, 1843 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Ammotrypane (Ophelina) · unaccepted
Ladice Kinberg, 1866 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Omaria Grube, 1869 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
Urosiphon Chamberlin, 1919 · unaccepted (subjective synonym)
- Species Ophelina abranchiata Støp-Bowitz, 1948
- Species Ophelina acuminata Örsted, 1843
- Species Ophelina adamantea (Kinberg, 1866)
- Species Ophelina alata Elías, Bremec, Lana & Orensanz, 2003
- Species Ophelina ammotrypanella Schüller, 2008
- Species Ophelina arabica Parapar, Al-Kandari, Barroso & Moreira, 2023
- Species Ophelina aulogastrella (Hartman & Fauchald, 1971)
- Species Ophelina aulopygos (Grube, 1866)
- Species Ophelina basicirra Parapar, Moreira & Helgason, 2011
- Species Ophelina bimensis (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina bowitzi Parapar, Moreira & Helgason, 2011
- Species Ophelina brattegardi Kongsrud, Bakken & Oug, 2011
- Species Ophelina breviata (Ehlers, 1913)
- Species Ophelina brevibranchiata (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina buitendijki (Horst, 1919)
- Species Ophelina chaetifera (Hartman, 1965)
- Species Ophelina cordiformis (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina curli Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina cylindricaudata (Hansen, 1879)
- Species Ophelina cyprophilia Neave & Glasby, 2013
- Species Ophelina delapidans (Kinberg, 1866)
- Species Ophelina dubia (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina ehlersi (Horst, 1919)
- Species Ophelina farallonensis Blake, 2000
- Species Ophelina fauveli (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina ganae Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina gaucha Elías, Bremec, Lana & Orensanz, 2003
- Species Ophelina gigantea (Rullier, 1965)
- Species Ophelina grandis (Pillai, 1961)
- Species Ophelina groenlandica Støp-Bowitz, 1948
- Species Ophelina gymnopyge (Ehlers, 1908)
- Species Ophelina hachaensis Augener, 1934
- Species Ophelina helgolandiae Augener, 1912
- Species Ophelina juhazi Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina kampeni (Horst, 1919)
- Species Ophelina kinbergii Hansen, 1882
- Species Ophelina kohni Magalhães, Rizzo & Bailey-Brock, 2019
- Species Ophelina kuekenthali (McIntosh, 1908)
- Species Ophelina langii (Kükenthal, 1887)
- Species Ophelina longicaudata (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina longicirrata Hartmann-Schröder & Parker, 1995
- Species Ophelina manana Magalhães, Rizzo & Bailey-Brock, 2019
- Species Ophelina martinezarbizui Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina meyerae Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina minima Hartmann-Schröder, 1974
- Species Ophelina modesta Støp-Bowitz, 1958
- Species Ophelina nematoides (Ehlers, 1913)
- Species Ophelina norvegica Støp-Bowitz, 1945
- Species Ophelina nunnallyi Wiklund, Neal, Glover, Drennan, Rabone & Dahlgren, 2019
- Species Ophelina opisthobranchiata Wirén, 1901
- Species Ophelina pallida (Hartman, 1960)
- Species Ophelina polycheles (Grube, 1866)
- Species Ophelina profunda (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina pygocirrata (Ehlers, 1920)
- Species Ophelina remigera (Ehlers, 1918)
- Species Ophelina robusta Schüller, 2008
- Species Ophelina scaphigera (Ehlers, 1900)
- Species Ophelina setigera (Hartman, 1978)
- Species Ophelina sibogae (Caullery, 1944)
- Species Ophelina syringopyge (Ehlers, 1901)
- Species Ophelina tessellata Neave & Glasby, 2013
- Species Ophelina kuekenthali (Horst, 1919) (uncertain > nomen dubium, junior homonym, unreplaced)
- Subgenus Ophelina (Armandia) accepted as Armandia Filippi, 1861
- Species Ophelina (Armandia) leptocirris Grube, 1878 accepted as Armandia leptocirris (Grube, 1878) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina agilis Andrews, 1891 accepted as Armandia agilis (Andrews, 1891) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina arctica (McIntosh in Jeffreys, 1876) accepted as Ammotrypanella arctica (McIntosh in Jeffreys, 1876) (superseded recombination)
- Species Ophelina aulogaster (Rathke, 1843) accepted as Ophelina acuminata Örsted, 1843 (recombination of subjective synonym)
- Species Ophelina brasiliensis Hansen, 1882 accepted as Antiobactrum brasiliensis (Hansen, 1882) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina brevita [auct. lapsus] accepted as Ophelina breviata (Ehlers, 1913) (lapsus calami)
- Species Ophelina helgolandica [auctt.] accepted as Ophelina helgolandiae Augener, 1912 (misspelling)
- Species Ophelina maculata Webster, 1884 accepted as Armandia maculata (Webster, 1884) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina magna Treadwell, 1914 accepted as Ophelia magna (Treadwell, 1914) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina margaleffi Sardá, Gil, Taboada & Gili, 2009 accepted as Ophelina modesta Støp-Bowitz, 1958 (subjective synonym)
- Species Ophelina mucronata Treadwell, 1914 accepted as Thoracophelia mucronata (Treadwell, 1914) (superseded original combination)
- Species Ophelina opisthobranchia [auctt.] accepted as Ophelina opisthobranchiata Wirén, 1901 (misspelling)
- Species Ophelina sarsi (Eliason, 1962) accepted as Ophelina modesta Støp-Bowitz, 1958 (subjective synonym; recombination)
marine, brackish, fresh, terrestrial
recent only
feminine
Örsted, A.S. (1843). Annulatorum danicorum conspectus. Auctore A.S. Örsted. Fasc. I. Maricolæ. (Quæstio ab universitate Hafniensi ad solvendum proposita et proemio ornata). , available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/11849
page(s): 45-46 [details]
page(s): 45-46 [details]
Etymology Örsted introduces new genus Ophelina on the same page that he includes a species of Ophelia. No name origin is given but...
Nomenclature Ophelina with the authorship attributed to Savigny is included in several English translations of Cuvier's "Le Règne...
Etymology Örsted introduces new genus Ophelina on the same page that he includes a species of Ophelia. No name origin is given but it seems to be named with an -ina suffix to indicate a relationship to Ophelia. Ophelia is a well-known feminine given name but this is of comparatively recent origin and the word derives from a Greek noun for 'help'. The gender is feminine. [details]
Nomenclature Ophelina with the authorship attributed to Savigny is included in several English translations of Cuvier's "Le Règne...
Nomenclature Ophelina with the authorship attributed to Savigny is included in several English translations of Cuvier's "Le Règne Animal ...", notably the expanded version published by Whittaker, with Griffith as lead author. However, this appears to be a coincidental lapsus when the text should have been Ophelia Savigny. A new name was not intended. If so Ophelina appearing in the Griffith volume is not an available name for taxonomy, and the listing in 'Nomenclator Zoologicus' [http://www.ubio.org/NZ/PDF/Vol3/pg0430.pdf] of two apparent Ophelina authorships should not be interpreted as a case of homonymy. [details]
Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2026). World Polychaeta Database. Ophelina Örsted, 1843. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=129414 on 2026-07-02
Date
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The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons
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Nomenclature
original description
Örsted, A.S. (1843). Annulatorum danicorum conspectus. Auctore A.S. Örsted. Fasc. I. Maricolæ. (Quæstio ab universitate Hafniensi ad solvendum proposita et proemio ornata). , available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/11849
page(s): 45-46 [details]
original description (of Ammotrypane Rathke, 1843) Rathke, H. (1843). Beiträge zur Fauna Norwegens. [Contributions to the Fauna of Norway]. <em>Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum, Breslau & Bonn.</em> 20: 1-264., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.11613
page(s): 186-188 [details]
original description (of Ladice Kinberg, 1866) Kinberg, J. G. H. (1866). Annulata Nova. Continuatio. [various errantia & sedentaria]. <em>Öfversigt af Königlich Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar, Stockholm.</em> 22(4): 239-258., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32339515
page(s): 257 [details]
original description (of Omaria Grube, 1869) Grube, A.E. (1869). Familie der Opheliaceen. <em>Jahres-Bericht der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für vaterländischer Cultur.</em> 46: 59-68., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46562369
page(s): 66; note: genus proposed in text for Ophelia aulopygos and O. polycheles [details]
original description (of Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866) Kinberg, J. G. H. (1866). Annulata Nova. Continuatio. [various errantia & sedentaria]. <em>Öfversigt af Königlich Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar, Stockholm.</em> 22(4): 239-258., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32339515
page(s): 257 [details]
original description (of Urosiphon Chamberlin, 1919) Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1919). The Annelida Polychaeta [Albatross Expeditions]. <em>Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.</em> 48: 1-514., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ia/memoirsofmuseumo4801harv
page(s): 384; note: erected for Ammotrypane cylindricaudatus Hansen, 1879, though a formal new combination was not published [details]
page(s): 45-46 [details]
original description (of Ammotrypane Rathke, 1843) Rathke, H. (1843). Beiträge zur Fauna Norwegens. [Contributions to the Fauna of Norway]. <em>Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum, Breslau & Bonn.</em> 20: 1-264., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.11613
page(s): 186-188 [details]
original description (of Ladice Kinberg, 1866) Kinberg, J. G. H. (1866). Annulata Nova. Continuatio. [various errantia & sedentaria]. <em>Öfversigt af Königlich Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar, Stockholm.</em> 22(4): 239-258., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32339515
page(s): 257 [details]
original description (of Omaria Grube, 1869) Grube, A.E. (1869). Familie der Opheliaceen. <em>Jahres-Bericht der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für vaterländischer Cultur.</em> 46: 59-68., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46562369
page(s): 66; note: genus proposed in text for Ophelia aulopygos and O. polycheles [details]
original description (of Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866) Kinberg, J. G. H. (1866). Annulata Nova. Continuatio. [various errantia & sedentaria]. <em>Öfversigt af Königlich Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar, Stockholm.</em> 22(4): 239-258., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32339515
page(s): 257 [details]
original description (of Urosiphon Chamberlin, 1919) Chamberlin, Ralph V. (1919). The Annelida Polychaeta [Albatross Expeditions]. <em>Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.</em> 48: 1-514., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ia/memoirsofmuseumo4801harv
page(s): 384; note: erected for Ammotrypane cylindricaudatus Hansen, 1879, though a formal new combination was not published [details]
Taxonomy
status source
Grube, Adolph-Eduard. (1878). Annulata Semperiana. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Annelidenfauna der Philippinen nach den von Herrn Prof. Semper mitgebrachten Sammlungen. <em>Mémoires l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.- Pétersbourg.</em> (série 7) 25(8): 1-300., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45379218
page(s): 192-193; note: genus reestablished, being removed from synonymy with Ophelia [details]
page(s): 192-193; note: genus reestablished, being removed from synonymy with Ophelia [details]
Identification resource
identification resource
Parapar, Julio; Al-Kandari, Manal; Barroso, María; Moreira, Juan. (2023). The genus Ophelina Örsted, 1843 (Annelida: Opheliidae) in the coast of Kuwait (northern Indian Ocean), with the description of a new species. <em>European Journal of Taxonomy.</em> 870; 1-29., available online at https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/2113
page(s): 22 of 29; note: key for species of Ophelina in the Indo-Pacific, Southern Asia, Indo-Malay Archipelago and Australia [details] Available for editors
[request]
page(s): 22 of 29; note: key for species of Ophelina in the Indo-Pacific, Southern Asia, Indo-Malay Archipelago and Australia [details] Available for editors
[request]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 Day, J. H. (1967). [Sedentaria] A monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa. Part 2. Sedentaria. British Museum (Natural History), London. pp. 459–842., 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 [request]
additional source Kongsrud, J. A.; Bakken, T.; Oug, E. 2011. Deep-water species of the genus Ophelina (Annelida, Opheliidae) in the Nordic Seas, with the description of Ophelina brattegardi sp. nov. Italian Journal of Zoology 78(Supplement 1): 95-111, available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2011.606658 [details] Available for editors [request]
additional source Day, J. H. (1967). [Sedentaria] A monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa. Part 2. Sedentaria. British Museum (Natural History), London. pp. 459–842., 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
[request]additional source Kongsrud, J. A.; Bakken, T.; Oug, E. 2011. Deep-water species of the genus Ophelina (Annelida, Opheliidae) in the Nordic Seas, with the description of Ophelina brattegardi sp. nov. Italian Journal of Zoology 78(Supplement 1): 95-111, available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2011.606658 [details] Available for editors
[request]
Present Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
From editor or global species database
Diagnosis From Maciolek & Blake (2006):"Body elongate, not divided into distinct regions; with deep ventral groove and two lateral grooves along entire length of body. Prostomium conical, sometimes with terminal palpode; eyes present or absent. Branchiae present or absent; if present, beginning on chaetiger 2, continuing to posterior end, sometimes absent from middle or far posterior chaetigers; branchiae single, cirriform. Segmental lateral eyes absent. Noto- and neuropodia with small fascicles of capillary chaetae; small ventral cirrus present. Pygidium with anal funnel sometimes bearing long unpaired cirrus and additional lateral cirri." [details]
Etymology Örsted introduces new genus Ophelina on the same page that he includes a species of Ophelia. No name origin is given but it seems to be named with an -ina suffix to indicate a relationship to Ophelia. Ophelia is a well-known feminine given name but this is of comparatively recent origin and the word derives from a Greek noun for 'help'. The gender is feminine. [details]
Nomenclature Ophelina with the authorship attributed to Savigny is included in several English translations of Cuvier's "Le Règne Animal ...", notably the expanded version published by Whittaker, with Griffith as lead author. However, this appears to be a coincidental lapsus when the text should have been Ophelia Savigny. A new name was not intended. If so Ophelina appearing in the Griffith volume is not an available name for taxonomy, and the listing in 'Nomenclator Zoologicus' [http://www.ubio.org/NZ/PDF/Vol3/pg0430.pdf] of two apparent Ophelina authorships should not be interpreted as a case of homonymy. [details]
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Ophelina)
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Terpsichore) (from synonym Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866)
To Genbank (from synonym Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866)
To Genbank
To The Arctic Traits Database (5 traits)
To ITIS
To European Nucleotide Archive, ENA (Terpsichore) (from synonym Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866)
To Genbank (from synonym Terpsichore Kinberg, 1866)
To Genbank
To The Arctic Traits Database (5 traits)
To ITIS
Unreviewed
Image from typetaxon
