Synelmis emiliae, Salazar-Vallejo, 2003

Salazar-Vallejo, Sergio I., 2003, Revision of Synelmis Chamberlin, 1919 (Annelida, Polychaeta, Pilargidae), Zoosystema 25 (1), pp. 17-42 : 25-26

Synelmis emiliae n. sp.

( Figs 1B ; 4 )

Synelmis cf. albini – Dean 1999: 49-51, fig. 1 (partim). TYPE MATERIAL. — Syntypes: eastern tropical Pacific, Gulf of California, Bahía Concepción, Santispac , 26 ° 46’08”N, 111 ° 53’50”W, intertidal, N. E. González, 15.IX.1983, 1 syntype separated in two pieces (ECOSUR-PILA-2); Bahía Concepción, Santispac , 0.5 m, 18.VII.1985, S. I. Salazar-Vallejo, 1 syntype ( UANL-318 ) .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Bahía Concepción, eastern coast of Baja California, Gulf of California.

ETYMOLOGY. — This species is named in honor of my beloved wife, Norma Emilia González, for her strong support, for constantly pushing my development in polychaete taxonomy, and for collecting one of the specimens upon which this description has been based. OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Costa Rica. Gulf of Nicoya, stn 31-2, 9°44’00”N, 84°59’25”W, 22 m, VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 1 anterior fragment, 9 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, with 29 setigers, 1 st notospines in setiger 9, pharynx about 7 setigers long ( USNM 79947 ) ; stn 31-2, 9°52’00”N, 84°48’10”W, 22 m, 3.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 1 anterior fragment, 4.5 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, with 27 setigers, 1 st notospines in setiger 9, pharynx about 5 setigers long ( USNM 79948 ) ; stn 34-2, 9°55’30”N, 84°50’05”W, 26 m, 9.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 5 complete specimens and 5 anterior fragments, 5-17 mm long, 0.1-0.5 mm wide, with 35-74 setigers, 1 st notospines in setiger 9 (8-11), pharynx about 6 setigers long ( USNM 79951 ) ; stn 13-2, 9°52’30”N, 84°43’50”W, 28 m, 10.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 2 anterior fragments, 1 in poor condition, the damaged fragment was not analysed, the other one is 9 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, with 45 setigers, 1 st notospines in setiger 8, pharynx about 5 setigers long ( USNM 79955 ) ; stn 23-2, 9°48’35”N, 84°43’50”W, 38 m, 10.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 1 complete specimen, 10 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, with 49 setigers, 1 st notospine from setiger 7, pharynx length not discernable ( USNM 79959 ) ; stn 25-2, 9°50’05”N, 84°52’00”W, 22 m, 10.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 1 anterior fragment, 4 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, with 19 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 8, pharynx about 8 setigers long ( USNM 79960 ) ; stn 27- 2, 9°51’57”N, 84°50’50”W, 13 m, 10.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 1 complete specimen, 8 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, with 45 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 8, pharynx about 6 setigers long ( USNM 79962 ) ; stn 29-2, 9°54’55”N, 84°45’15”W, 20 m, 11.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 7 complete specimens and 2 anterior fragments, 6-42 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, with 45-122 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 10 (8-11), pharynx about 6 setigers long ( USNM 79969 ) ; stn 29A-2, 9°54’55”N, 84°45’15”W, 20 m, 11.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 9 complete specimens and 4 anterior fragments, 22-42 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, with 88-130 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 11 (9-11), pharynx about 7 setigers long ( USNM 79970 ) ; stn 36-2, 9°55’32”N, 84°45’20”W, 22 m, 11.VII.1980, H. K. Dean, 2 complete specimens, 15- 31 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide, with 59-88 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 8 or 10, pharynx about 7 setigers long ( USNM 79972 ) ; stn 15-2, 9°57’40”N, 84°47’00”W, 12.VII.1980, 16 m, H. K. Dean, 16 complete specimens and 9 anterior fragments, 9-27 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, complete ones with 80-102 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 8-11 (mean setiger 10), pharynx 6-8 setigers long ( USNM 79975 ) ; stn 35-2, 9°55’42”N, 84°47’40”W, 12.VII.1980, 14 m, H. K. Dean, 8 complete specimens and 3 anterior fragments, 4-17 mm long, 0.2-0.3 mm wide, complete ones with 34- 65 setigers, 1 st notospines from setiger 7-10 (mean setiger 9), pharynx 6-7 setigers long ( USNM 79976 ) .

DISTRIBUTION. — Gulf of California (Bahía Concepción) to Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, in tidal channels in mangrove sites and up to 40 m in depth in shelly or muddy sediments.

DESCRIPTION

Body colorless in alcohol or with lateral pigmented areas surrounding the setal lobes (UANL-318), 50-67.5 mm in length, 0.5-0.6 mm in width, 187-204 setigers.

Prostomium trapezoidal; three cirriform antennae; lateral antennae located posteriorly and slightly smaller than the median one. Palps biarticulated, free from each other, with small rounded palpostyles and long ventral papillae. Two small eyes (seen after staining with methyl green), in a lateral depression (other syntype without eyes). Tentacular cirri cirriform, well developed, dorsal one slightly longer than the ventral one ( Fig. 4A ). Parapodia with cirriform cirri and short setal lobes. Dorsal and ventral cirri of anterior parapodia ( Fig. 4B ) similar in length, around setiger 25, dorsal cirri becomes slightly shorter than the ventral one ( Fig. 4C ), by setiger 50 ( Fig. 4D ) this difference becomes more evident and by setiger 100, the dorsal cirri is much shorter than the ventral one. Notospines present from setiger 13-14, smooth, acute, slightly bent distally, pointing forward, with oblique line or slit over most of exposed length; length of emergent portion appears to change in relation to body region. By about setiger 50, emergent portion of notospine equal in size to dorsal cirri, spine becomes longer than dorsal cirri in posterior setigers but prepygidial region has relatively longer dorsal cirri ( Fig. 4E ). Neurosetae smooth straight capillaries, limbate setae, and asymmetric slightly bent furcate setae ( Fig. 1B ).

Pygidium with two anal cirri, each as long as the preceding segment; one or two asetigerous segments provided with cirriform cirri ( Fig. 4F ). The pharynx reaches setiger 6 but since anterior portion may be everted, it may be some 8-9 setigers in length. Ova present from about setiger 45.

REMARKS

Synelmis emiliae n. sp. is very similar to S. sinica and to S. glasbyi n. sp. in general appearance; they have short ventral papillae, short setal lobes, and a similar start of notospines. S. emiliae n. sp. differs in having dorsal cirri much shorter than the ventral cirri (lateral eyes are common). Long notospines with an oblique slit, are also present in S. glasbyi n. sp. but they are generally distally curved, pointing forwards in S. emiliae n. sp., while in the other species they are mostly straight.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Furcate setae from different Synelmis species; A, S. britayevi n. sp. (LACM-AHF-2092); B, S. emiliae n. sp. (UANL-318); C, S. gibbsi n. sp. (BMNH-1971.65); D, E, S. gorgonensis (Monro, 1933) n. comb.; D, BMNH-1932.12.24.128; E, ZMH-14211; F, S. harrisae n. sp. (LACM-AHF-2095); G, S. rigida (Fauvel,1919) n. comb.(BMNH 1970.310); H, S. rigida n. comb. (MNHN A71); I, J, S. sotoi n. sp. (MNHN A888 As296). Scale bar: 30 µm.

FIG. 4. — Synelmis emiliae n. sp. from western Mexico (ECO- SUR-PILA-2); A, anterior end in dorsal view; B, setiger 10 in anterior view; C, setiger 25 in posterior view (UANL-318); D, setiger 50 in posterior view; E, setiger 100 in posterior view; F, posterior end in dorsal view. Scale bars: A, F, 0.3 mm; B-E, 63 µm.