Taken primarily from Kozloff, 1987, 1996 (Copyright 1987, 1996, University of Washington Press. Used in this web page by permission of University of Washington Press)
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| Lower taxonomic level | Main Page | Alphabetic Index | Systematic Index | Glossary |
| 1a | Without prostomial antennae; prostomialpalps small, inconspicuous | Micronereis nanaimoensis |
| 1b | With prostomial antennae; prostomialpalps conspicuous | 2 |
| 2a | With 3 pairs of tentacular cirri on the peristomium; notopodia without any setae other than the aciculae [previously identified as Namanereis quadraticeps (Blanchard, 1849), which probably does not occur in the northern hemisphere] | Lycastopsis sp. |
| 2b | With 4 pairs of tentacular cirri on the peristomium; notopodia with setae in addition to the aciculae | 3 |
| 3a | Ventral cirrus of parapodia of anterior part of the body divided near the base into 2 branches | Ceratocephale loveni |
| 3b | Ventral cirrus of all parapodia simple | 4 |
| 4a | Tentacular cirri of peristomium constricted into several units | Nicon moniloceras |
| 4b | Tentacular cirri of peristomium not constricted into several units | 5 |
| 5a | Segment 2 (following peristomium) enlarged, projecting anteriorly as a collarlike structure around the peristomium (commensal with large, subtidal hermit crabs) | Cheilonereis cyclurus |
| 5b | Segment 2 not enlarged and not forming a collarlike structure around the peristomium | 6 |
| 6a | Most of the paragnaths on the everted pharynx conical | 7 |
| 6b | At least some of the paragnaths on the everted pharynx elongated transversely, crowded into comblike configurations, or otherwise deviating from a conical form | 18 |
| 7a | Notopodia of posterior portion of the body with homogomph falcigerous setae | 8 |
| 7b | Notopodia of posterior portion of the body without homogomph falcigerous setae | 15 |
| 8a | Distal ring of everted pharynx without paragnaths | Nereis (Eunereis) wailesi |
| 8b | Distal ring of everted pharnx with paragnaths | 9 |
| 9a | Upper ligule of notopodia of posterior region of the body much larger than the lower ligule | 10 |
| 9b | Upper ligule of notopodia of the posterior region of the body not obviously larger than the lower ligule | 12 |
| 10a | Upper ligule of notopodia of the posterior region of the body strap-shaped (photo) | Nereis vexillosa |
| 10b | Upper ligule of notopodia of the posterior region of the body not strap-shaped | 11 |
| 11a | ||
| 11b | ||
| 12a | ||
| 12b | ||
| 13a | ||
| 13b | ||
| 14a | ||
| 14b | ||
| 15a | Proximal ring of everted pharynx usually without paragnaths, or with only a few on area VII | Nereis (Ceratonereis) paucidentata |
| 15b | Proximal ring of everted pharynx usually with paragnaths in all areas, although they may be absent in area I or V | 16 |
| 16a | Dorsal ligule of parapodia not obviously larger than the ventral ligule (hermaphroditic and ovoviparous; found in estuarine situations and in fresh water) | Nereis (Neanthes) limnicola |
| 16b | Dorsal ligule of parapodia leaflike and much larger than the ventral ligule | 17 |
| 17a | Areas VII and VIII of evertedpharynx with paragnaths arranged in a band that consists of 4 or more rows | Nereis (Neanthes) brandti |
| 17b | Areas VII and VIII of evertedpharynx with paragnaths arranged in 2 or 3 irregular rows (paragnaths may be absent in area I) | Nereis (Neanthes) virens |
| 18a | Area VI of evertedpharynx with a large, transversely elongated paragnath | Perinereis monterea |
| 18b | Paragnaths on area VI of everted pharynx neither large nor transversely elongated, but compactly arranged in such a way that they form a nearly comblike configuration (common in sediment and among Ulva and other green algae in bays) | Platynereis bicanaliculata |
Nereis (Neanthes) brandti
Nereis vexillosa