Ficopomatinae Pillai 1960

Subfamily Ficopomatinae Pillai, 1960

Type genus: Ficopomatus Southern, 1921.

Type species: Ficopomatus macrodon, Southern, 1921.

The subfamily characters are re-defined below on the basis of its three presently constituent genera, namely, Ficopomatus Southern (1921), Marifugia Absolon & Hrabé 1930, and Neopomatus Pillai (1960).

Subfamily characters: Operculum present, chitinous, occurring in position of first left branchial radiole; peduncle lacks pinnules and wings. Interradiolar membranes absent Number of thoracic chaetigers: 7 or 6; collar chaetae present or absent, strongly toothed when present; Apomatus -chaetae absent. Thoracic membranes free or joined over thorax; extend to end of thorax; apron present. Abdominal neurochaetae: geniculate. Anterior process of uncini gouged. Typical habitat: non-marine, i.e., brackish to totally freshwater.

Remarks: Most serpulimorph polychaetes occur in typically marine habitats. The ability to survive and reproduce in non-marine environments, ranging from hypersaline to brackish-water as, for example, in F. enigmaticus, or brackish-water as in N. uschakovi, or even totally freshwater as in Marifugia cavatica, is an important character that needs to be to be taken into consideration in view of physiological adaptations involved. Hennig (1966 p. 101), while discussing the holomorphological methods of phylogenetic systematics, states that ‘it is an old demand that systematic work should consider “all characters as far as possible, and not be limited to only one sector of the fabric of characters.…..’