PARASTENHELIIDAE Lang, 1944; sensu Willen (2000)
"The family Parastenheliidae is a small group, at present including 4 genera and about 20 species (Gee 2006, Wells 2007, Back
& Lee 2013). They are essentially marine, free-living and
benthic, and mainly inhabit the intertidal zone or shallow
subtidal habitats and frequently found among algal assemblages" (Boxshall & Halsey, 2004) 
PSAMMOLEPTOMESOCHRA Mielke, 1994
Psammoleptomesochra australis Mielke, 1994 [Chile; psammon]
PARASTENHELIA Thompson & A. Scott, 1903 (syn. Thalestrella Monard, 1935)
Parastenhelia antarctica Scott T., 1912
Parastenhelia aydini Kuru & Karaitug 2015 [Turkey]
Parastenhelia willemvervoorti Huys & Mu 2021 [China]
Parastenhelia bulbosa (Wells, 1963) [England; estuaries]
Parastenhelia costata Pallares, 1982 [Argentina; marine]
Parastenhelia forficula Lang, 1936
Parastenhelia forficula littoralis Lang, 1934 (syn. Parastenhelia spinosa (Fischer, 1860), Parastenhelia spinosa spinosa (Fischer, 1860)
Parastenhelia gracilis Brady, 1910 [Falkland, Kerguelen; marine]
Parastenhelia hornelli Thompson & A. Scott, 1903 [Black Sea, Sri Lanka, Antarctic (Livingston Island); sand banks with algae]
Parastenhelia littoralis (Sars G.O., 1911)
Parastenhelia littoralis f. penicillata (Willey)(?)
Parastenhelia littoralis f. scotti nom. no Sewll (?)
Parastenhelia jenkinsi [Australia; marine] Walker-Smith
Parastenhelia megarostrum Wells, Hicks & Coull, 1982 [New Zealand; estuaries]
Parastenhelia minuta Pallares, 1982 [Argentina; marine]
Parastenhelia oligochaeta Wells & Rao, 1987 [Andaman, Nicobar islands; marine]
Parastenhelia ornatissima Por, 1964 (syn. Karllangia ornatissima (Monard, 1935)
Parastenhelia pyriformis Song et al., 2003 [Korea; sandy bottoms]
Parastenhelia reducta Apostolov, 1975[Black Sea; sandy bottom]
Parastenhelia similis Thompson I.C. & Scott A., 1903
Parastenhelia spinosa (Fischer, 1860) [Europe; north Africa; marine]
Parastenhelia spinosa f. bulgarica Apostolov, 1968 [Bulgaria;brackish waters]
Parastenhelia tenuis Brady, 1910 (syn. Antarcticobradya tenuis (Brady, 1910)
WORLD KEY TO PARASTENHELIA SPECIES
FOWEYA Gee, 2006
Foweya anglica (Norman & T. Scott, 1905) [England; marine]
Foweya tertia (Kunz, 1975) [south Africa; tidal pools]
JOHNWELLSIA Huys & Mu, 2021
Johnwellsia bipartita Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
KARLLANGIA Noodt, 1964 (Karllangia is synonym of Thalestrella (after Huys & Mu (2021)
The genus Karllangia Noodt, 1964, formerly included in the family Ameiridae, has been recently removed to Parastenheliidae Lang, 1944 (Willen, 2000).
The genus presently shows a scattered distribution, suggesting a circumtropical-subtropical distribution but, as Mielke (1994) suggest, "any statement on its biogeography is surely premature".
Thalestrella arenicola arenicola (Noodt, 1964) [Africa; marine interstitial] *
Thalestrella bengalensis Wells & Rao, 1987 [Andaman, Nicobar; coastal waters]
Thalestrella obscura Mielke, 1994 [Costa Rica; mesopsammon]
Thalestrella ornatissima (Monard, 1935) [France, marine sand]
Thalestrella psammophila Wells, 1967
Thalestrella pulchra Mielke, 1994 [Costa Rica; mesopsammon]
Thalestrella reducta (Apostolov, 1975) [Black sea] **
Karllangia tertia Kunz, 1975 (syn. Foweya tertia (Kunz, 1975)
* syn. Karllangia psammophila Wells, 1967 (Wells & Rao, 1987)
** incertae sedis according to Gee, 2006
| KEY TO SPECIES OF KARLLANGIA - THALESTRELLA|
Review of the family
and key to genera
PENICILLICARIS Huys & Mu, 2021
Penicillicaris pectinimana Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
Penicillicaris maldivensis Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
Penicillicaris penicillata Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
Penicillicaris sewelli Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
Key to species of Penicillicaris
PORIRUALIA Huys & Mu, 2021 [China]
Porirualia megarostrum (Wells, Hicks & Coull, 1982) comb. nov.
Porirualia pyriformis (Song et al., 2003 )
RHIZOTRICHIDAE Por, 1986
RHIZOTHRIX Brady & Robertson, 1875
(sy(Wells, Hicks & Coull, 1982) comb. novn. Quintanus Wilson C.B., 1932; Rhizothrix Brady & Robertson, 1876; Rhizothrix (Rhizothrix) Brady & Robertson, 1876 ; Rhizothrix (Tryphoema) Monard, 1926)
"The genus Rhizothrix Brady & Robertson,
1875 has a complex history. Brady &
Robertson (1875) created the genus to accommodate
R. curvata Brady & Robertson,
1875, the type species, but they did not include
any description of the species. Later,
Brady (1880) offered a detailed description
of R. curvata. Pennak (1942) created the
genus Adelopoda Pennak, 1942 and assigned
it to the family Canthocamptidae
Sars, 1906. Bodin (1997) was of the opinion
that Adelopoda should have been assigned
to the Cletodidae. Boz¡ic´ (1953) considered
Adelopoda a subgenus of Rhizothrix.
Wells (1963) considered Adelopoda a
synonym of Tryphoema Monard, 1926 and
suggested that Tryphoema had to be considered
a subgenus of Rhizothrix. Lang
(1965) considered Rhizothrix and Tryphoema
distinct, and reallocated the genus Adelopoda
into the genus Tryphoema. Por
(1986) allocated the genera Rhizothrix and
Tryphoema to the family Rhizothricidae
Por, 1986.
with other members of the genus.
Currently, 12 species and subspecies are
included within Rhizothrix.
The type species of the genus, Rhizothrix
curvata, was reported from British coasts.
Later, Scott (1903) reported R. minuta (T.
Scott, 1903) and R. gracilis (T. Scott, 1903)
from Scotland. Wilson (1932) described R.
tenella (Wilson, 1932) from the Atlantic
coast of North America, and Lang (1936)
reported R. scotti (Lang, 1936) from the
Arctic Ocean. Since Lang’s (1948) monograph,
six species and subspecies have been
added: R. reducta Noodt, 1952; R. reducta
noodti Galhano, 1970; R. pubescens Por,
1959; R. quadriseta Wells, 1967; R. spinosa
Coull, 1971; and R. wilsoni Bodin, 1979.
Most recently, Arlt (1983) reported R. cf.
minuta from the Baltic Sea and discussed
the differences observed between his R. cf.
minuta and R. minuta" (from: Nam & Le, 2005).
Rhizothrix bocqueti Bozic, 1953 (syn. Tryphoema bocqueti (Bozic, 1953)
Rhizothrix curvata Brady & Robertson, 1875 [Europe; marine sand]
Rhizothrix dolsandoensis [Korea]
Rhizothrix gracilis (T. Scott, 1903) [north Europe; marine sand]
Rhizothrix longiseta Gomez, 2018 [California]
Rhizothrix lusitanica Wells & Clark, 1965 (syn. Tryphoema lusitanica (Wells & Clark, 1965)
Rhizothrix minuta (T. Scott, 1903) [north Europe; marine sand]
Rhizothrix pubescens Por, 1959 [Black Sea]
Rhizothrix quadriseta Wells,1967 [Mozambique; marine]
Rhizothrix ramabula (Pennak, 1942) (syn. Tryphoema ramabula (Pennak, 1942)
Rhizothrix reducta reducta Noodt, 1952 [Sylt island; marine]
Rhizothrix reducta noodti Galhano, 1970 [Portugal; marine interstitial]
Rhizothrix scilloniensis Wells, 1968 (syn. Tryphoema scilloniensis (Wells, 1968)
Rhizothrix sejongi Jung Nam & Lee, 2005 [Korea; sandy beach]
Rhizothrix scotti (Lang, 1936) [Arctic Ocean]
Rhizothrix spinosa Coull, 1971 [USA; marine]
Rhizothrix tenella (Wilson, 1932) [USA; Atlantic coast]
Rhizotrix virginiae Björnberg, 2014 [Brazil]
Rhizothrix wilsoni Bodin, 1979 [France; marine]
| KEY TO THE SPECIES OF GENUS RHIZOTHRIX |
TRYPHOEMA Monard, 1926 [syn. ADELOPODA Pennak, 1942] (syn. Adelopoda Pennak, 1942)
Tryphoema bocqueti (Bozic, 1953) [France; marine sand]
Tryphoema gallipolenis Sak & Metin, 2016 [Turkey]
Tryphoema irmgardae Packmor, 2013 [Spain]
Tryphoema lusitanica (Wells & Clark, 1965) [Portugal; marine interstitial]
Tryphoema porca Monard, 1926
Tryphoema ramabula (Pennak, 1942) [USA; marine sand]
Tryphoema riedli Coull, 1971 [USA; marine sand]
Tryphoema scilloniensis (Wells, 1968) [Scilly island; marine]
Tryphoema werneri Packmor, 2013 [Spain]
MONOPENICILLUS George et al., 2023
Monopenicillus anke George et al., 2023 [Baltic sea]
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