Gattyana cirrhosa is a species of scale worm in the family Polynoidae. It is known from widespread locations in the North Atlantic, Arctic, and northwestern Pacific ocean, from the intertidal zone at depths of at least . Pettibone, Marian H. (1963). Marine polychaete worms of the New England region. I. Aphroditidae through Trochochaetidae. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. 227(1): 1-356., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7870746 Jirkov, I.A. (2001). [Polychaeta of the Arctic Ocean] (In Russian) Polikhety severnogo Ledovitogo Okeana. Yanus-K Press, Moscow, 632 pp., available online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259865957_Jirkov_2001_Polychaeta_of_the_North_Polar_Basin
Description Gattyana cirrhosa is a short-bodied worm with 38 segments and 15 pairs of elytra, which bear a marginal fringe of papillae and are a rich brassy-orange colour. The lateral antennae are positioned ventrally on the prostomium, directly beneath the median antenna. Notochaetae are about as thick as or thinner than the neurochaetae.
Biology and ecology
Gattyana cirrhosa has a commensal relationship with chaetopterid, terebellid, and pectinariid polychaete worms, living within the tubes they construct. However, it is also a free-living taxon.
References