Branchiomma coheni Tovar-Hernández and Knight-Jones, 2006

Keppel, Erica, Tovar, Maria Ana & Ruiz, Gregory, 2015, First record and establishment of Branchiomma coheni (Polychaeta: Sabellidae) in the Atlantic Ocean and review of non – indigenous species of the genus, Zootaxa 4058 (4), pp. 499-518 : 508

Branchiomma coheni Tovar-Hernández and Knight-Jones, 2006

Branchiomma coheni was described from the Pacific coast of Panama in 2006 ( Tovar-Hernández & Knight-Jones, 2006) and is first recorded in the Atlantic Ocean (Florida) in this study. In the Gulf of California, B. coheni is found in marinas and ports (docks, buoys, ropes, all hull fouling) but even in aquaculture facilities (oyster and shrimp cultures) where it is found in relatively low abundance, reportedly in the ratio of 1:100 with B. bairdi (Tovar- Hernández, unpublished data). Nevertheless, this species could increase in abundance depending on abiotic and biotic factors of the environment, therefore it is important to maintain monitoring although it is not presently considered a threat to marine ecosystem health.