(Reiss, 1969)
Body
Small to medium sized larvae up to 5 mm long. The posterior parapods bear about 45 simpel claws Para styriaca anal claws (Klink, 1983a).
Head
The S3 is simpel.
Antenna
The antenna stands on a small pedestal without a spur Para styriaca antenna small) and consists of 5 segments. The basal segment about as long as the flagellum. Segment 2 is cylindrical and up to 3.5 x as long as the remaining segments. The antennal blade is of normal length. The small Lauterborn organs distally on segment 2 with a pedestal that is 6 x as long as the combined length of segments 3-5.
Mentum
The mentum has a simpel median tooth and 5 pairs of lateral teeth. The ventromental plates are close together medially and wider than the mentum Para styriaca mentum.
Labrum
SI is a comb and labral lamellae a single plate with numerous apical teeth Para styriaca labrum small. The pecten epipharyngis consists of 3 smooth plates with distal teeth Paraps pe three combs. The premandible has 2 apical teeth Para styriaca premandible.
Mandible
The mandible without a dorsal hump. Dorsal tooth, apical tooth and 2 inner teeth Para styriaca mandible are present. The pecten mandibularis is present and seta interna with branches.
Differential characteristics
The 2 described larvae of Parapsectra are so different that its difficult to find unifying characteristics for this genus. The long pedestals of the Lauterborn organs has Parapsectra in common with Corynocera, Krenopsectra, Tanytarsus and Micropsectra. With 2 apical teeth on the premandible only Krenopelopia and Micropsectra remain. Parapsectra can be separated from Micropsectra by its much smaller size (max. 5 mm versus 8-10 mm in Micropsectra). Krenopsectra differs from Parapsectra by the large hump on the 11th segment Krenops fallax anal segments which is less pronounced (or absent?) in Parapsectra Para styriaca anal segm small. P. styriaca has a manbible with only 2 inner teeth where Krenopsectra has three inner teeth. The apical projection of the antennal pedestal, dorsal hump on the mandible and short antennal blade is distinctive for P. uliginosa.
P. styriaca can easily be separated from P. uliginosa by missing the large spur on the antennal pedestal.