Psamathini

Psamathini are a tribe of phyllodocid "bristle worms" (class Polychaeta) in the family Hesionidae. They are (like almost all polychaetes) marine organisms; most are found on the continental shelf, but some have adapted to greater depths down to the abyssal plain.

Their dorsal cirri alternate, and they usually lack facial tubercles. Most have prolonged teeth on the chaetal blades. 5 genera are placed in the Psamathini with certainty, and three further ones are often included here too in recent times, to make this tribe refer to a distinct clade of polychaetes:

  • Bonuania (tentatively placed here)
  • Hesiospina
  • Micropodarke (tentatively placed here)
  • Nereimyra (= Halimede, Psammate)
  • Psamathe (= Kefersteinia)
  • Sirsoe (tentatively placed here)
  • Syllidia
  • Vrijenhoekia