ИСТИНА

During a survey of the offshore marine ecosystem in Korea, a new species of the genus Parironus was from Yellow Sea, in muddy sediment. The family Ironidae is comprised of two subfamilies, nine genera and 89 species. The genus Parironus was first established by Micoletzky in 1930 with type species Parironus keiensis. Several key characteristics of Parironus include short stoma, three teeth, presence of inner labial papillae, outer labial and cephalic setae, narrow spicules with set-off proximal ends, as well as conical tail with no caudal glands. Five species of Parironus have been described to this date, and this is the first record of Parironus within coast of Korea. Parironus sp. nov. can be distinguished from other taxa within the genus by its three equally sized teeth, smooth spicule without projections, presence of supplementary organ and its short distance with respect to cloacal opening. Emended diagnosis of the genus, as well as a pictorial key for Parironus species identification, are constructed.