A Global Mission

The mission of the Ocean Census is to accelerate the discovery of ocean life to advance fundamental science, empower conservation, and fuel innovation for the future of our planet.

Join the Census

The Ocean Census Alliance unites national and philanthropic marine institutes, museums, and universities, backed by governments, philanthropy, business and civil society partners.

Gallery

Phylum

OC-SP-0002961

Blanket Bay - Inc Point Lewis;31 - Nemertea;BQDAC0020;MRG871-12;Tetrastemma sp. SMSA012;SMSA012;SP03112;AN019317;NMVF290208;PID0164414

Species ID

OC-SP-0002961

Discovered

Phylum

Nemertea

Species ID

OC-SP-0002961

Provisional Species Name

Tetrastemma sp_SMSA012

Lowest Valid Taxon Name in WoRMS

Tetrastemma

Lowest Known Rank

Genus

Status

Discovered

Does the taxonomist(s) intend to work on this material further?

3. I/We are not sure yet. This is of course no problem, we will display your species info (if not embargoed) while you work out your species description plan.

Embargo

No

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Nemertea

Class

Hoplonemertea

Order

Monostilifera

Family

Tetrastemmatidae

Genus

Tetrastemma

Date Identified

20/01/2026

Taxonomic Remarks

Distinct color in life (especially the pattern on the head) is sufficient to distinguish this species from other local Tetrastemma spp.; it can also be differentiated by COI sequence data.

Received All Minimal Data for Discovery

08/04/2026

Description of Material

Body 7 to 28 mm long, 0.3 to 1 mm wide, with semi-trsanslucent margins. Background colour tangerine to light brown. Two pairs of eyes. Cephalic lobe wider than body, diamond shaped, 1.5 times longer than wide, separated from body by a neck furrow; with a white anterior margin and a narrow transverse dark brown band connecting the two anterior eyes. Prominent oblique cerebral organ furrows visible dorsally and ventrally. Posterior tip rounded. With 3 – 7 oocytes per ovary. Rhynchocoel extends to near posterior tip. Stylet basis elongated, pear shaped, widest at its distal rounded end. S/B = 0.5. Two accessory stylet sacs with 1 – 2 stylets in each.

Ecology

Found in a wide range of habitats (sponge, sea weed, gravel and around sea squirts) in somewhat sheltered locations on exposed coasts in the intertidal zone.

Distribution

From Blanket Bay to Cape Conran, Victoria, Australia

Scientific Name Authorship

Maslakova, Svetlana

Blanket Bay - Inc Point Lewis;31 - Nemertea;BQDAC0020;MRG871-12;Tetrastemma sp. SMSA012;SMSA012;SP03112;AN019317;NMVF290208;PID0164414

Join the census

The Ocean Census Alliance unites national and philanthropic marine institutes, museums, and universities, backed by governments, philanthropy, business and civil society partners.