Dipolydora cf. armata (Langerhans, 1880)

Status
Common, pseudocosmopolitan

Description
Small, 5 mm for 24-25 segments. Preserved specimens opaque white to tan.
Prostomium bilobed. Caruncle to end of chaetiger 2. Occipital tentacle absent. No eyes.
2-3 notochaetae on chaetiger 1. Modified spines on chaetiger 5 falcate with collar. Hooded hooks from chaetiger 7, 3 or 4 per fascicle. Retractable spines on posterior chaetigers, form a funnel when everted and cone when retracted.
Branchiae start on chaetiger 7, up to 7 pairs, short.
Middle chaetigers larger than preceding or succeeding ones.
Pygidium is small, and cuff- shaped.

Distribution
Intertidal & subtidal, from Knysna to Haga Haga.
Mediterranean, Northeast Atlantic, Red Sea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, east & west coasts of USA, Hawai’i, Chile, Ecuador

Ecology
Borer of calcareous substances; molluscs, coralline algal crusts, living coral, and coral rock.

Notes
Probably part of complex of morphologically similar species. Identity of South African species needs to be confirmed.