Vrijenhoekia sp. nov. 1

Gunton, Laetitia M., Kupriyanova, Elena K., Alvestad, Tom, Avery, Lynda, Blake, James A., Biriukova, Olga, Boeggemann, Markus, Borisova, Polina, Budaeva, Nataliya, Burghardt, Ingo, Capa, Maria, Georgieva, Magdalena N., Glasby, Christopher J., Hsueh, Pan-Wen, Hutchings, Pat, Jimi, Naoto, Kongsrud, Jon A., Langeneck, Joachim, Meissner, Karin, Murray, Anna, Nikolic, Mark, Paxton, Hannelore, Ramos, Dino, Schulze, Anja, Sobczyk, Robert, Watson, Charlotte, Wiklund, Helena, Wilson, Robin S., Zhadan, Anna & Zhang, Jinghuai, 2021, Annelids of the eastern Australian abyss collected by the 2017 RV ' Investigator' voyage, ZooKeys 1020, pp. 1-198 : 1

cf. Vrijenhoekia sp. nov. 1 Fig. 12G

Diagnosis.

Two complete specimens, 22 chaetigers (i.e., appears to be fixed growth of maximum 22 chaetigers). Prostomium subrectangular (broader than long), one pair lateral antennae, long, tapered, extending to tip of palps or 2 × longer; median antenna absent. Small red eyespots present, two or three pairs. Palps bi-articulate, palpostyle oval to globulose, slightly longer than palpophore. Proboscis with ten digitate terminal papillae and micro-papillae on surface; jaws absent. Facial tubercle absent. First three segments tentacular, achaetous, bearing six pairs tentacular cirri, slender, longest almost half length of body. Parapodia uniramous throughout, bearing digitate prechaetal lobe; dorsal and ventral cirri slender, tapered, similar in length throughout: ~ 0.5-1 × length of parapodial lobes, except for first and second pairs which are many times longer than parapodial lobe (similar in length to tentacular cirri). Ventral cirri inserted subterminally. Fan-like supra- and sub-neuropodial fascicles, bearing compound spinigers only, all with similar-length blades. Colour in ethanol yellow-white, unpigmented.

Remarks.

The present specimens are closer to Vrijenhoekia than any other described hesionid genus, but differ from its type species, Vrijenhoekia balaenophila , and from V. cf. ketea as described above, as follows: a mediodorsal prostomial process (tubercle or antenna) was not observed (present in other members of the genus though minute and probably only observable clearly with scanning electron microscopy); palpostyles are globulose in the present material vs. tapered; compound chaetae blades are relatively longer in the present material; and the present specimens appear to have a maximum of 22 chaetigers, whereas there are 35 in the type species (this character is not reported in other species of the genus). On the other hand, the present material resembles more closely the type species than V. cf. ketea in having ten digitate proboscideal papillae (absent in the latter). The globulose (= ovoid) palpostyles are the most distinctive feature of the species.

Records.

13 specimens. Suppl. material 1: ops. 11, 23, 31, 40, 42, 45, 46, 54, 96 (AM).

Figures

Figure 12. Hesionidae A Microphthalmus sp. B Microphthalmus sp., anterior end C Microphthalmus sp., pygidium D Neogyptis sp. nov. 1 (AM W. 52327) E Neogyptis sp. nov. 2 (AM W. 52436) F Vrijenhoekia ketea G cf. Vrijenhoekia sp. nov. 1 (AM W. 52453). Scale bars: 0.25 mm (A); 100 µm (B); 100 µm (C); 1 mm (E, F, G); 2 mm (D).