Rhynchospio mzansi Simon, Williams, Henninger 2018

Status
Rare, indigenous

Description
Small, up to 11 mm for 59 chaetigers. Prostomium with lateral horns, caruncle to end chaetiger 1. 2 pairs of eyes arranged in trapezoid, anterior pair kidney-shaped. In life, light brown pigment on caruncle, nuchal organs kidney-shaped light brown patches. Preserved specimens colourless.
Notochaetae from chaetiger 1 onwards. Notopodial lobes subtriangular in anterior, smaller and digitiform in posterior. Tridentate hooded hooks usually appear on chaetiger 16, on 15 to 18 in few. Maximum of 7 hooks per ramus.
Branchiae start on chaetiger 2, absent from last 4 to 8 chaetigers. Longest on chaetiger 14, overlap mid-dorsum.
Pygidium with 1 pair conical ventral cirri and 3 – 8 longer dorsal cirri.

Ecology
Tube dweller, upper intertidal within effluent outflow path from abalone farm. Likely usually subtidal.

Distribution
South Africa: Western Cape Province: Table Bay, Walker Bay, KwaZulu Natal