A Review of Six Species of Nephtys (Cuvier, 1817) (Nephtyidae: Polychaeta) Described from the Eastern Pacific

Proboscidial characters and the first occurrence of the interramal cirri have been confused or misreported in literature accounts for Eastern Pacific Ocean species of Nephtys Cuvier, 1817. Six species are reviewed: Nephtys caecoides Hartman, 1938; N. californiensis Hartman, 1938; N. cormuta Berkeley and Berkeley, 1945; N. ferruginea Hartman, 1940; N. parva Clark and Jones, 1955; and N. signifera Hilbig, 1992. Type material is reexamined and compared to literature accounts and non-type material. Corrections to the descriptions and the resulting changes in the taxonomic status are presented, and as a result, N. parva is synonymized with N. cornuta, and N. signifera is synonymized with N. ferruginea.