WoRMS taxon details
Magelona papillicornis F. Müller, 1858
130272 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:130272)
accepted
Species
Magelona papilliformis [auctt. misspelling for papillicornis] · unaccepted > misspelling - incorrect subsequent spelling (incorrect subsequent spelling)
- Subspecies Magelona papillicornis rosea Moore, 1907 accepted as Magelona rosea Moore, 1907 (superseded subsequent combination, also usage is a misidentification)
marine
Müller, F. (1858). Einiges über die Annelidenfauna der Insel Santa Catharina an der brasilianischen Küste. <em>Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Berlin.</em> 24(1): 211-220, plates VI-VII. (Aus einer brieflichen Mittheilung an Prof. Grube)., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7460059
page(s): 215-216, plate VI figs. 10-11 [details]
page(s): 215-216, plate VI figs. 10-11 [details]
Type locality contained in Santa Catarina
type locality contained in Santa Catarina [details]
Distribution Not relevant to this Magelona papillicornis record but according to Holtmann et al (1996) Maea mirabilis or Magelona...
Distribution M. papillicornis F. Müller, 1858 does not occur in the European ERMS area (fide Fiege et al 2000)
Taxonomy This note is on the early history of misidentifications of Magelona papillicornis in Europe and the Bristish Isles....
Distribution Not relevant to this Magelona papillicornis record but according to Holtmann et al (1996) Maea mirabilis or Magelona johnstoni, long wrongly identified as M. papillicornis occur in almost the entire European area, in the North Sea as weil as in the estuarine areas. A Magelona species is very abundant in the area south of the Oyster Ground, but is scarce in the southern part of the Southern Bight and at the central Oyster Ground. The highest biomass values are found in the eastern part of the area. [details]
Distribution M. papillicornis F. Müller, 1858 does not occur in the European ERMS area (fide Fiege et al 2000)
Distribution M. papillicornis F. Müller, 1858 does not occur in the European ERMS area (fide Fiege et al 2000) [details]
Taxonomy This note is on the early history of misidentifications of Magelona papillicornis in Europe and the Bristish Isles....
Taxonomy This note is on the early history of misidentifications of Magelona papillicornis in Europe and the Bristish Isles. Magelona papillicornis is a Brazilian species and does not occur in the British Isles and neighboring Europe although many records from there exist. First Claparède (1863: 74, plate 10) found a larva at St Vaast la Hougue (Normandy, English Channel) which he assigned to Magelona genus. He states it "must be quite similar to Magelona papillicornis from Sta. Catharina. It agrees with it—although there are also quite a few differences" Next McIntosh (1877) apparently has found Magelona at St Andrews, Scotland. He does not give a species name but mentions that Muller has established the genus name of Magelona earlier than Johnston's Maea genus name for a similar worm. McIntosh (1878, 1911) published a longer article in a German journal, republished much later in English in 1911. Again he does not claim his Magelona is M. papillicornis. However, by 1915 in his Ray Society monograph (p.74 he uses the name Magelona papillicornis as his heading, following other authors, and cites their records from near the British Isles, eg Channel shores of France (Claparede, Giard, Mesnil, and De St. Joseph). The misidentification as Magelona papillicornis for the British Isles region is now established. See Fiege et al (2000) for discussion of Maea mirabilis, Magelona johnstoni, two species now recorded instead of M. papillicornis for British Isles. [details]
Read, G.; Fauchald, K. (Ed.) (2026). World Polychaeta Database. Magelona papillicornis F. Müller, 1858. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=130272 on 2026-03-26
The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 License
Nomenclature
original description
Müller, F. (1858). Einiges über die Annelidenfauna der Insel Santa Catharina an der brasilianischen Küste. <em>Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Berlin.</em> 24(1): 211-220, plates VI-VII. (Aus einer brieflichen Mittheilung an Prof. Grube)., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7460059
page(s): 215-216, plate VI figs. 10-11 [details]
page(s): 215-216, plate VI figs. 10-11 [details]
Taxonomy
taxonomy source
McIntosh, William Carmichel. (1915). Polychaeta, Opheliidae to Ammocharidae. <em>A Monograph of the British Marine Annelids.</em> The Ray Society, London, 3 (1): i-viii, 1-368 (text)., available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38532650
note: Not. M. papillicornis. McIntosh repeats the British Isles misidentification (discovered subsequently) of others. McIntosh's first definite assignment (a misidentification) as M papillicornis for Briti...
[details]
taxonomy source Fiege, Dieter; Licher, Frank; Mackie, Andrew S.Y. (2000). A partial review of the European Magelonidae (Annelida: Polychaeta): <i>Magelona mirabilis</i> redefined and <i>M. johnstoni</i> sp. nov. distinguished. <em>Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.</em> 80(2): 215-234., available online at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315499001800
note: Magelona mirabilis (now Maea) and Magelona johnstoni replace Magelona papillicornis as English Channel region species of magelonid [details] Available for editors
[request]
redescription Jones, Meredith Leam. (1977). A redescription of <i>Magelona papillicornis</i> F. Müller. pp: 247-266. In: Donald J. Reish and Kristian Fauchald (Eds.). <em>Essays on Polychaetous Annelids in Memory of Dr. Olga Hartman.</em> Los Angeles: The Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California.
page(s): 247 [details] Available for editors [request]
note: Not. M. papillicornis. McIntosh repeats the British Isles misidentification (discovered subsequently) of others. McIntosh's first definite assignment (a misidentification) as M papillicornis for Briti...
Not. M. papillicornis. McIntosh repeats the British Isles misidentification (discovered subsequently) of others. McIntosh's first definite assignment (a misidentification) as M papillicornis for British Isles. He cites many previous identifications from near the British Isles, eg Channel shores of France (Claparede, Giard, Mesnil, and De St. Joseph).
taxonomy source Fiege, Dieter; Licher, Frank; Mackie, Andrew S.Y. (2000). A partial review of the European Magelonidae (Annelida: Polychaeta): <i>Magelona mirabilis</i> redefined and <i>M. johnstoni</i> sp. nov. distinguished. <em>Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.</em> 80(2): 215-234., available online at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315499001800
note: Magelona mirabilis (now Maea) and Magelona johnstoni replace Magelona papillicornis as English Channel region species of magelonid [details] Available for editors
[request]redescription Jones, Meredith Leam. (1977). A redescription of <i>Magelona papillicornis</i> F. Müller. pp: 247-266. In: Donald J. Reish and Kristian Fauchald (Eds.). <em>Essays on Polychaetous Annelids in Memory of Dr. Olga Hartman.</em> Los Angeles: The Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California.
page(s): 247 [details] Available for editors
[request]Other
additional source
Bellan, G. (2001). Polychaeta, <i>in</i>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. <em>Collection Patrimoines Naturels.</em> 50: 214-231. (look up in IMIS)
note: checklist listing but a misidentification for Europe [details]
additional source Claparède, A. R. É. (1863). Beobachtungen über Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte wirbelloser Thiere: an der Küste von Normandie angestellt. [Observations on the anatomy and evolution of invertebrates: made on the coast of Normandy.]. <em>Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig.</em> 1-120, 18 plates., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/10030
note: identification as Magelona for a planktonic larva from St Vaast la Hougue, English Channel [details]
additional source Ehlers, Ernst. (1907). Neuseeländische Anneliden. II. <em>Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse. Neue Folge.</em> 5(4): 3-31., available online at http://goo.gl/Jpqjvv
page(s): 16; note: Ehlers New Zealand Magelona papillicornis record is a misidentification [details]
additional source McIntosh, William Carmichael. (1877). On the structure of <i>Magelona</i>. <em>Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4.</em> 20(116): 147-152., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19299477
note: McIntosh apparently has found Magelona at St Andrews, Scotland. He does not give a species name but mentions that Muller has established the genus name of Magelona earlier than Johnston's Maea genus n...
[details]
additional source McIntosh, William Carmichael. (1911). On the structure of <i>Magelona</i>. <em>Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8.</em> 7(41): 417-457., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15815137
note: translation of a 1878 article in German, in Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie. The Magelona is not named to species [details]
additional source Mortimer, Kate; Mills, Kimberley; Robertson, Craig M. (2026). Magelonidae Cunningham & Ramage, 1888 (Annelida, Polychaeta)—Worldwide Identification Keys and the Re-Establishment of Maea Johnston, 1865. <em>Taxonomy (MDPI).</em> 6(1: 17): 1-60., available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6500/6/1/17
page(s): table 4 [details] Available for editors [request]
note: checklist listing but a misidentification for Europe [details]
additional source Claparède, A. R. É. (1863). Beobachtungen über Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte wirbelloser Thiere: an der Küste von Normandie angestellt. [Observations on the anatomy and evolution of invertebrates: made on the coast of Normandy.]. <em>Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig.</em> 1-120, 18 plates., available online at http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/10030
note: identification as Magelona for a planktonic larva from St Vaast la Hougue, English Channel [details]
additional source Ehlers, Ernst. (1907). Neuseeländische Anneliden. II. <em>Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse. Neue Folge.</em> 5(4): 3-31., available online at http://goo.gl/Jpqjvv
page(s): 16; note: Ehlers New Zealand Magelona papillicornis record is a misidentification [details]
additional source McIntosh, William Carmichael. (1877). On the structure of <i>Magelona</i>. <em>Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 4.</em> 20(116): 147-152., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19299477
note: McIntosh apparently has found Magelona at St Andrews, Scotland. He does not give a species name but mentions that Muller has established the genus name of Magelona earlier than Johnston's Maea genus n...
McIntosh apparently has found Magelona at St Andrews, Scotland. He does not give a species name but mentions that Muller has established the genus name of Magelona earlier than Johnston's Maea genus name
additional source McIntosh, William Carmichael. (1911). On the structure of <i>Magelona</i>. <em>Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8.</em> 7(41): 417-457., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15815137
note: translation of a 1878 article in German, in Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Zoologie. The Magelona is not named to species [details]
additional source Mortimer, Kate; Mills, Kimberley; Robertson, Craig M. (2026). Magelonidae Cunningham & Ramage, 1888 (Annelida, Polychaeta)—Worldwide Identification Keys and the Re-Establishment of Maea Johnston, 1865. <em>Taxonomy (MDPI).</em> 6(1: 17): 1-60., available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6500/6/1/17
page(s): table 4 [details] Available for editors
[request]
Present Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio Inaccurate Introduced: alien Containing type locality
From editor or global species database
Biology Not relevant to this Magelona papillicornis record but as reported by Holtmann et al (1996) the larvae of European Magelona occur in the plankton of the North Sea from April-May to August and sometimes as late as October. Magelona species can burrow down to a substantial depth, probably without making a permanent tube and are able to swim temporarily. Magelona electively collects suspended and deposited particies, e.g. diatoms and all kinds of detritus. Magelona species form a common food item for juvenile fish (Hartmann-Schröder, 1971; Wolff, 1973; Fauchald & Jumars, 1979; Hayward & Ryland, 1990). [details]Distribution Not relevant to this Magelona papillicornis record but according to Holtmann et al (1996) Maea mirabilis or Magelona johnstoni, long wrongly identified as M. papillicornis occur in almost the entire European area, in the North Sea as weil as in the estuarine areas. A Magelona species is very abundant in the area south of the Oyster Ground, but is scarce in the southern part of the Southern Bight and at the central Oyster Ground. The highest biomass values are found in the eastern part of the area. [details]
Distribution M. papillicornis F. Müller, 1858 does not occur in the European ERMS area (fide Fiege et al 2000) [details]
Identification According to Fiege, Licher & Mackie (2000) M. papillicornis is a species described from Brazil, which does not occur in European waters. Specimens identified as M. papillicornis were (as assessed in Fiege et al, 2000) either M. mirabilis or M. johnstoni. These two species are very similar, and co-occur in European waters; M. johnstoni has only recently been recognised as different from M. mirabilis. [details]
Morphology A long, threadlike species that is usually a few centimetres long and composed of up to 150 segments. Two body regions can be discerned, both with short parapodia. The characteristic flattened head bears a pair of very long palps covered with nurnerous papillae. The palps and anterior region are pink, while the posterior region is greenish grey with white blotches (Hartmann-Schröder, 1971; Hayward & Ryland, 1990). These citations apply to misidentified M. papillicornis which does not occur in Europe [details]
Taxonomy This note is on the early history of misidentifications of Magelona papillicornis in Europe and the Bristish Isles. Magelona papillicornis is a Brazilian species and does not occur in the British Isles and neighboring Europe although many records from there exist. First Claparède (1863: 74, plate 10) found a larva at St Vaast la Hougue (Normandy, English Channel) which he assigned to Magelona genus. He states it "must be quite similar to Magelona papillicornis from Sta. Catharina. It agrees with it—although there are also quite a few differences" Next McIntosh (1877) apparently has found Magelona at St Andrews, Scotland. He does not give a species name but mentions that Muller has established the genus name of Magelona earlier than Johnston's Maea genus name for a similar worm. McIntosh (1878, 1911) published a longer article in a German journal, republished much later in English in 1911. Again he does not claim his Magelona is M. papillicornis. However, by 1915 in his Ray Society monograph (p.74 he uses the name Magelona papillicornis as his heading, following other authors, and cites their records from near the British Isles, eg Channel shores of France (Claparede, Giard, Mesnil, and De St. Joseph). The misidentification as Magelona papillicornis for the British Isles region is now established. See Fiege et al (2000) for discussion of Maea mirabilis, Magelona johnstoni, two species now recorded instead of M. papillicornis for British Isles. [details]
