Rullierinereis Pettibone, 1971: 31; Fauchald 1977a: 90; Wu & Sun 1979: 106; Taylor 1984: 21, 23; Wu et al. 1985: 61; Khlebovich 1996: 93; Sun & Yang 2004: 82.
Profundilycastis Hartmann-Schröder, 1977a: 149; Hartmann-Schröder 1977b: 45 –46.
Type species. Leptonereis zebra Rullier, 1963, by Original designatiOn.
Amended diagnosis. PrOstOmium with entire anteriOr margin, One pair Of antennae, One pair Of biarticulated palps
with cOnical palpOstyles, and fOur pairs Of tentacular cirri with distinct cirrOphOres. Eyes present Or absent. Pharynx with
paired jaws; maxillary ring withOut papillae and paragnaths; Oral ring withOut paragnaths, with Or withOut papillae
(papillae present in R. bahamensis Hartmann-Schröder, 1958). ParapOdia Of first twO chaetigers uniramOus; nOtOpOdium
with dOrsal cirrus; single nOtOpOdial ligule present Or absent. NOtOpOdia Of fOllOwing chaetigers with dOrsal cirrus and
ventral ligule; dOrsal ligule and prechaetal lObe present Or absent. NeurOpOdia with acicular lObe, pOstchaetal lObe, ventral ligule, and ventral cirrus; prechaetal lObe absent. NOtOchaetae: hOmOgOmph spinigers and falcigers present; falcigers Often replacing spinigers On pOsteriOr chaetigers. NeurOchaetae: hOmOgOmph spinigers present in upper neurOchaetae, tOgether with heterOgOmph falcigers Or spinigers; heterOgOmph falcigers present in lOwer neurOchaetae, with Or withOut heterOgOmph spinigers.
Remarks. When Hartmann-Schröder (1977a) erected the mOnOtypic genus Profundilycastis, the fOllOwing diagnOstic characteristics were shOwn tO separate this genus frOm the clOsely related genus Rullierinereis: (1) the absence Of eyes, (2) the absence Of a nOtOpOdial dOrsal ligule thrOughOut, (3) the nOtOpOdia Of the first twO chaetigers represented by a dOrsal cirrus Only, withOut any ligules, and (4) the parapOdial ligules Of the fOllOwing chaetigers being narrOwly elOngated. Thereafter, hOwever, the definitiOn Of Rullierinereis has been expanded by adding newly fOund Or subsequently transferred species that shared the characteristics with Profundilycastis, e.g., R. anoculata CantOne, 1982 and R. faroensis Kirkegaard, 1998 lacking eyes; R. auxiliadorae SantOs & Lana, 2001, R. bahamesis (Hartmann- Schröder, 1958), and R. misakiensis (Imajima & Hayashi, 1969) lacking the nOtOpOdial dOrsal ligule thrOughOut. Then, Böggemann (2009) synOnymized Profundilycastis with Rullierinereis, thOugh its type species, P. profunda has unique characteristics such as the uniramOus parapOdia in the first twO chaetigers and narrOwly elOngated parapOdial ligules (see belOw). We fOllOwed the synOnymy prOpOsed by Böggemann (2009) and prOvided an amended diagnOsis Of Rullierinereis here tO accOmmOdate the fOllOwing 16 valid species:
Rullierinereis abyssalis Kirkegaard, 1995
Rullierinereis ancornunezi Núñez & BritO, 2006 Rullierinereis anoculata CantOne, 1982
Rullierinereis auxiliadorae SantOs & Lana, 2001 Rullierinereis bahamensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1958) Rullierinereis elytrocirra Wu & Sun, 1979
Rullierinereis faroensis Kirkegaard, 1998
Rullierinereis fauchaldi De León-GOnzález & SOlís-Weiss, 2000 Rullierinereis gallardoi PettibOne, 1971
Rullierinereis hancocki Fauchald, 1977b
Rullierinereis imajimai nom. nov. [= R. profunda Imajima, 2009] Rullierinereis mexicana (Treadwell, 1942)
Rullierinereis misakiensis (Imajima & Hayashi, 1969) Rullierinereis profunda (Hartman, 1965)
Rullierinereis uncinata (Hartman, 1965)
Rullierinereis zebra (Rullier, 1963)
Rullierinereis differs frOm twO clOsely related genera, Nicon Kinberg, 1865 and Typhlonereis Hansen, 1879, in the presence Of nOtOpOdial hOmOgOmph falcigers (Bakken 2003; De León-GOnzález & TrOvant 2013).