Ceratonereis singularis australis Hartmann-Schroeder , 1985

Pamungkas, Joko & Glasby, Christopher J., 2015, Taxonomy of reproductive Nereididae (Annelida) in multispecies swarms at Ambon Island, Indonesia, ZooKeys 520, pp. 1-25 : 5

Ceratonereis singularis australis Hartmann-Schroeder, 1985 Fig. 3A, B

Ceratonereis (Ceratonereis) singularis australis Hartmann-Schröder, 1985: 46-47, figs 48-58.

Ceratonereis (Ceratonereis) cf. singularis australis .- Martens et al. 1995: 12, figs 3-12.

Nereis (Ceratonereis) tentaculata . - Horst 1924: 36-38, Pl. 35, figs 4-7. Non Kinberg.

Type locality.

Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.

Material examined.

1 female (NTM W25886 ) , 1 male (NTM W25890 ) , 2 females (MZB.Pol.00175), 2 females (RCLA. Ann. 048), all from Suli, Ambon Island, 3°37'38.2"S, 128°18'25.0"E, coll. R. Alik, 19 March 2014 ; 8 ex. including 5 females (NTM W23808 ) , Banda , Maluku Province, Indonesia, coll. V.D. Velde, May 1921 (donated to NTM, formerly ZMA VPol 0962) .

Comparative material.

1 ex. (NTM W22557 ) , 1 ex. (NTM W23939 ) , 1 ex. (NTM W23950 ) , 1 ex. (NTM W23983 ) , Lizard Island , northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, coll. CREEFS surveys 2008-2010 .

Size range.

Female: length (11-15 mm), maximum width (2.9-3.0 mm). Male: length (25 mm), maximum width (3.1 mm).

Diagnosis.

Ceratonereis species with females having dark brown bands on chaetiger 2 and 3 dorsally, and sometimes weaker brown bands on chaetigers 5-14; pigment apparently absent in males (1 specimen examined) (Figs 3A, B). Eyes black in Ambon specimens but purple (perhaps faded?) in Banda specimens. Paragnaths conical, arranged as follows: Areas I: 0; II: 11-16; III: 7-11; IV: 15-18; absent areas V-VIII. Apart from pigmentation, male and female epitokes identical, i.e., males lacking scalloped dorsal cirri. Pre-natatory region comprising 16-17 chaetigers; dorsal cirri of anterior chaetigers unmodified; ventral cirri of anterior chaetigers unmodified; natatory region confined to mid-body, with posterior body unmodified; pygidium not observed. Fertilised eggs adhered to body surface in some specimens, green coloured.

Remarks.

The specimens examined agree well with Hartmann-Schröder’s (1985) type description especially the characteristic pigmentation pattern that we observed in female specimens, and paragnath count and form of the unmodified parapodia. It is the same as the material identified by Horst (1924) as Nereis (Ceratonereis) tentaculata from eastern Indonesia and as Ceratonereis (Ceratonereis) cf. singularis australis from Ambon Island by Martens et al. (1995). Specimens of Ceratonereis australis from Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef described by Glasby (2015) are also likely to be conspecific.

Ceratonereis (Ceratonereis) cf. perkinsi by Martens et al. (1995) appear to correspond to specimens observed by CJG from northern Australia, near the type locality (Broome, Western Australia) in terms of parapodial form and pigmentation pattern. Specimens reported by these authors as Ceratonereis (Ceratonereis) sp., do indeed belong to the Ceratonereis sensu stricto as described by Hartmann-Schröder (1985), as indicated by the illustrated deeply cleft prostomium (fig. 13); however, the suggestion that they are similar to Ceratonereis japonica is incorrect because the latter species has a very different type and arrangement of paragnaths, more in line with a species of Solomononereis (see Glasby 2015).

Distribution.

Eastern Indonesia and Australia (widespread).