Leodice cf. antennata Savigny in Lamarck, 1818

Zanol, Joana, Hutchings, Pat A. & Fauchald, Kristian, 2020, Eunice sensu latu (Annelida: Eunicidae) from Australia: description of seven new species and comments on previously reported species of the genera Eunice, Leodice and Nicidion, Zootaxa 4748 (1), pp. 1-43 : 22-24

Leodice cf. antennata Savigny in Lamarck, 1818

Leodice antennata . — Savigny, 1820: 49.

Eunice antennata . — Audouin & Milne Edwards, 1833: 219 (in footnote).— Kott 1963: 14.— Day & Hutchings 1979: 115.— Fauchald 1992: 57.

Material examined. Queensland. North West Island, among coral, coll. E.F. Hollmann, Aug 1910, AM W.235 (3).?North West Island Reef, coll. E.F. Hollmann, Aug 1910, AM W.245 (l). North West Island Reef, pres. G.P. Whitley, Dec 1925, Mar 1926, AM W.1794 (l), AM W.1797 (l), AM W.1802 (l), AM W.1805 (l). West of Point Burrowes, south east Gulf of Carpentaria, 16°58.5’S, 140°20’E, 14.5 m depth, trawled, coll. I. Loch, Dec 1976, AM W.17210 (2). West of Nassau River, east Gulf of Carpentaria, 15°51’S, 140°54.2’E, 22 m depth, trawled, coll. I. Loch, Dec 1976, AM W.17211 (l). Weipa, Gulf of Carpentaria, 5.5 m depth, mud, coll. G. Webster, 16 Aug 1961, AM W.5528 (l). Somerset, Cape York Peninsula, under rocks on beach below old Residence site, coll. W.F. Ponder & I. Loch, 11 Jul 1976, AM W.17209 (l). 0.8 km NW of Howick Island, 18 m depth, 11 Mar 1929, AM W.2943 (l). 0.5 km west of North Direction Island, 36 m, 09 Mar 1929, AM W.2942 (l). Penguin Channel , 18–28 m depth, 24 Feb 1929, AM W.2940 (several). Lizard Island, 14°40’S, 145°28’E, coll. P. Hutchings, Jan 1975, AM W.97141 (l), AM W.197142 (l), AM W.197143 (2), AM W.197144 (l), AM W.197145 (l). Michaelmas Cay, off Cairns, coll. T. Iredale & G.P. Whitley, Sep 1926, AM W.2314 (1), AM W.2315 (1). Havannah Island, 24 m depth, coll. P. Hutchings, 31 Jan 1976, AM W.17202 (l). Townsville, The Strand, rubble, rock area, under rocks, coll. I. Loch, 05 Jul 1970, AM W.4532 (l). Coral Sea, N.E. Cay, Herald Group, 19°02’S, 146°38’E, dead coral washings, coll. J. Yaldwyn & D.F. McMichael, 09 Nov 1964, AM W.197083 (l). Port Denison, 9.1 m depth, AM W.197041 (12), AM W.197929 (l). Point Vernon, Hervey Bay, 30 Ap 1972, coll. P. Hutchings, low tide, rock platform, mangrove silt, algae, barnacles, AM W.17197 (12), AM W.17198 (2), AM W.17199 (several). Hunter Island, 21°58’S, 150°08’E, coll. I. Bennett, AM W.197082 (6). Holbourne Island, pres. E.H. Rainford, AM W.839 (l). North West Islet, Capricorn Group, coll. G.P. Whitley, May 1931, AM W.2968 (l). Heron Island, coll. I. Bennett, Aug 1959, AM W.4767 (3). Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, 1961, AM W.197025 (l). Heron Island, Capricorn Group, coll. Outward Bound School, Dec 1960, AM W.197033 (l); amongst and in coral boulders, 1960–61, AM W.197035 (2). Between Heron Island & Wistari Reef, 37 m depth, coll. lan Thomas, 1960, AM W.197036 (l). North Wistari Reef, 24–27 m depth, dead coral, Heteropsammia & Heterocyathus from sandy bottom, coll. D. Fisk, 09 Jan 1978, AM W.18150 (2). Rat Island, Port Curtis, between tidemarks, coll. M. Ward & W. Boardman, 14 Dec 1929, AM W.2763 (l); coll. M. Ward & W. Boardman, Mar 1930, AM W.2747 (7+), AM W.2748 (l). Sandy Cape, stone washings, 11 Feb 1946, AM W.197039 (6). Masthead Islet, coll. D.B. Fry, Dec 1910, AM W.256 (l), AM W.259 (l), AM W.260 (l), AM W.264 (l). Near Myora beach, Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, in coral clumps, coll. E. Pope & SUB Society, 08 Aug 1961, AM W.3735 (l). Dunwich, Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, 27°30’S, 153°24’E, 1962; pres. Mr. Tharumarajah AM W.197029 (1); coll. F.C. Vohra, 30 Oct 1963, AM W.19070 (l). Mouth of Brisbane River, 3–12 m depth, maximum abundance at 3–6 m, dredged, coll. Tom Hailstone, 1963, id. L. Amoureaux AM W.19093 (l). Middleton Reef, 55–73 m depth, dredged, coll. J. Maclntyre, 26 Nov 1960, AM W.197032 (7). New South Wales. Woody Head, coll. F. Rost, 04 Nov 1963, AM W.197031 (1); coll. Australian Museum Party, 16 Feb 1965, AM W.97034 (1). Esmeralda Cove, Broughton Island, 32°37’S, 152°19’E, Stn 2816, kelp holdfasts, coll. NSW Fisheries, 11 May 1978, id. P. Hutchings, AM W.18523 (l). Lake Macquarie, Salts Bay, Stn 367, Zostera . coll. L. Collett, NSW State Fisheries, AM W.9652 (l). Long Reef, coll. E. Pope, Feb 1940, AM W.3229 (1). Coogee, rockpool, coll. F.A. Mc- Neill & A.A. Livingstone, Dec 1921, AM W.864 (3). Malabar, Stn A, coll. Shelf Benthic Survey, 12 May 1972, id. S. Rainer AM W.6228 (l). Cronulla, off CSIRO lab, coll. L. Hedges, Jul 1973, AM W.5869 (l). Shellharbour, pres. G. McAndrew, April 1925, NEF, W1595 (l); between tide marks, Dec 1925, AM W.1771 (2). Wreck Bay, 18 m depth, coll. P. Hutchings & P. Weate, 09 Apr 1972, AM W.9042 (l). Lord Howe Island. coll. McCulloch and Troughton, AM W.912 (l); lagoon south of Rabbit Island, on coral reef, obtained by breaking open coral, coll, P. Hutchings, 23 Apr 1971, AM W.5531 (5); lagoon, coll. J. Booth, Aug 1962, AM W.5601 (3); muddy areas of south end lagoon, Sep 1962, AM W.197028 (l); organ pipe coral, coll. Julie Booth, Oct 1962, AM W.97030 (l); coll. J. Booth, Sep 1962, AM W.197038 (l). Salmon Beach, in coral and corallines at low tide on reef, coll. P. Hutchings, 25 Apr 1971, AM W.197829 (l), AM W.197927 (l); masses of corallines, low tide, coll. P. Hutchings, 24 Apr 1971, AM W.5529 (l). Victoria. Flinders Pier, coll. R. Lipson, 1977, AM W.14131 (l). Off Patterson River, Port Phillip Bay, 38°02’S, 145°11’E, 8 m depth, Stn 1241, coll Marine Pollution Studies Group, 10 Mar 1971, id. Poore et al. Port Phillip Bay Estuarine Survey 1969–73, AM W.16280 (1). South Australia. 2 km off Sultana Point, 35°07’S, 137°46’E, 7 m depth, Pinna epibiota , coll. M. Keough, 25 Sep 1977, AM W.197410 (10). Tasmania. East coast of Flinders Island, Wll (l). Entrance to Oyster Bay, AM W.197923 (l). Western Australia. Bunbury, pres. A. Abjamissen, May 1910, AM W.201 (1). Off Dunsborough, 16.5 m depth, on limestone & coral reef, in shell, sand, coll. W.F. Ponder, B. R. Wilson, N. Coleman, 27 Dec 1971, AM W.6077 (1). Rottnest Island; Point Clune, coll. E. Pope, 23 Oct 1965, AM W.5715 (8). Long River Bay, 29 Nov 1945, AM W.5716 (3) Rottnest Island, North Point, reef collecting, 28 Nov 1945, AM W.5723 (1). Rottnest Island, North Point, pool collecting, coll. P. Kott, AM W.7025 (2). Bundegi Reef, Exmouth, under dead coral, low tide, coll. N. Coleman, 25 Jul 1972, AM W.5467 (l); north side of Naval Communication Base, Exmouth, 22° 15’S, 114°15’E; rock pool, coll. W.F. Ponder, 19 Jan 1972, AM W.5517 (l); rockpool inside reef, AM W.17196 (l). 4.8 km west of Basille Island, 38 m depth, in coral on muddy bottom, coll. Aquinas College, 04 Jan 1968, AM W.197040 (l). Northern Territory. Talc Head, Port Darwin, between tidemarks, AM W.1775 (l). Port Darwin, pres, F. R. Morris, Feb 1935, AM W.3144 (l). Stokes Hills, Power House, Darwin, coll. E. Pope, 22 Oct 1965, AM W.6160 (27+). Fannie Bay, Darwin, sand and mud flats, coll. E. Pope, 25 Oct 1965, AM W.197027 (l). Howard Channel, AM W.545 (9).

Remarks. The very wide concept of this species proposed by, among others, Fauvel (1917, 1919), Hartman (1944) and Fauchald (1970), does not appear to be tenable. The specimens observed differ from the species as redescribed in Fauchald (1992) in that the number of teeth in MxII is relatively low (5–6 rather than 8–10). Furthermore, the structure of the left MxIV appears unusual in that the teeth are very small, nearly comb-like. Compared to material from the vicinity of the type locality ( Fauchald 1992), the posterior pectinate chaetae are narrow and have relatively few teeth.

Day & Hutchings (1979:115) reviewed previous records of this species from Australia. They listed L. bassensis and L. torresiensis as synonyms of L. antennata . These three species were considered distinct from L. antennata by Fauchald (1992) and are treated separately here. The three species resemble each other and other species in the same species group (C-2 sensu Fauchald 1992) in that all have yellow, tridentate subacicular hooks and pectinate branchiae continuing to the posterior end. In L. bassensis the number of branchial filaments drops to a low of three and remains at that level for the rest of the branchiated part of the body; in L. antennata and L. torresiensis median chaetigers have a reduced number of filaments, sometimes as few as two, but the number increases again towards the posterior end. In L. bassensis , the separation of the two peristomial rings is distinct on all sides and posterior notopodial cirri is strongly articulated; in L. antennata and L. torresiensis the separation is indistinct laterally and the articulations of notopodial cirri are not as strong. These three species differ in the shape of aciculae and subacicular hook. L. torresiensis and L. antennata also differ in the length of peristomial cirri, which reaches, respectively, anterior border of peristomium and mid anterior peristomial ring.

A third closely related species is L. aequabilis , but it differs from L. antennata in having cylindrical regular articulations in prostomial appendages and branchiae with a minimum of 12 filaments.

As the Australian Leodice cf. antennata may be part of a global species complex, we are abstaining from a species description until additional material from other geographic regions is thoroughly examined.

Type locality. Gulf of Suez .