Ficopomatus miamiensis ( Treadwell, 1934 )

Bastida-Zavala, J. Rolando, 2008, Serpulids (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Eastern Pacific, including a brief mention of Hawaiian serpulids, Zootaxa 1722, pp. 1-61 : 19-21

Ficopomatus miamiensis ( Treadwell, 1934)

( Figures 5B–D)

Sphaeropomatus miamiensis Treadwell, 1934: 339–341 , figs. 1–5, fig. 9. Type locality: Miami River, Florida, USA. Ficopomatus miamiensis .— ten Hove and Weerdenburg, 1978: 106–109, figs. 1f–i, 3c, 4h–i, q, v–w, ee–ii, xx, 5a–b

(revision of the genus).

Material examined. Many specimens (30+): Sinaloa ( Mexico ), UMAR-Poly 51, 10+ spec. (23º09’N, 106º19’W, Urias estuary, Mazatlan , 1999, coll. N. Méndez). Pacific of Panama (Panama), USNM 58659, 20+ spec. (approx. 8º59’40”N, 79º35’20”W, Miraflores Spillway, Canal Zone, sta. 130–5, “on bottom, standing water”, April 2, 1973, coll. M.L. Jones et al.) .

Diagnosis. Gregarious. Tube white, lacks longitudinal ridges or alveoli, with peristomes. Opercular peduncle smooth, white. Operculum spherical or with flat distal plate, without spines ( Figs 5B, D). Collar with coarsely serrated chaetae ( Fig. 5C). Thoracic membranes not fused dorsally.

Habitat. Depth: intertidal to 3 m. In tropical and subtropical brackish-waters lagoons; also in aquaculture shrimp ponds. Fouling and invasive species in the Tropical Eastern Pacific ( Salgado-Barragán et al. 2002, 2004; Bastida-Zavala et al. in prep.).

Distribution. Amphi-American. Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea (ten Hove & Weerdenburg 1978) and Pacific side of Panama and Mexico (Sinaloa). Ficopomatus miamiensis is probably an invasive species in the Tropical Eastern Pacific ( Panama and Sinaloa, Mexico).