Polycirrini

Nogueira, Fitzhugh and Hutchings (2013: 235-236) considered subfamily Polycirrinae as family Polycirridae after morphological cladistic analysis of Terebellomorphs. Herein, this change was not adopted. Subsequently Stiller et al (2020), after a molecular analysis, reduced Polycirrinae to tribe rank within subfamily Terebellinae. This change has been adopted. According to Stiller et al (2020: 14 of 28] "Polycirrini are therefore simplified terebellids that have lost their branchiae, reversed the [character of] double rows of uncini that characterize Terebellinae and [have] reduced chaetae in some species. Their affliation with Terebellidae was previously suggested because they all share palps inserting outside of the mouth and their glandular shields. Phylogenetic analyses based on morphological data found Polycirrini inside of Thelepodinae, as the sister group to Terebellinae+Thelepodinae, or as the sister group to all other Terebelliformia. The latter result we also recover […] It is possible that the high degree of non-applicable morphological characters due to the absence of branchiae and often also of chaetae produced these placements of Polycirrini, which differ markedly from the hypothesis strongly supported by both Sanger-sequenced genes and transcriptomic data. " Subsequently Lavesque, Hutchings, et al (2020) elected to continue with Polycirrus and relatives at family rank as Polycirridae, although not providing new comparative molecular data, stating that they will discuss the "status of Polycirridae in a subsequent paper".