Rhodopsis Bush, 1905

Ten Hove, Harry A. & Kupriyanova, Elena K., 2009, Taxonomy of Serpulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta): The state of affairs, Zootaxa 2036, pp. 1-126 : 88

38. Rhodopsis Bush, 1905

( Fig. 43)

Type-species: Rhodopsis pusilla Bush, 1905

Number of species: 2

Tube white, circular in cross-section, thin-walled, not increasing in diameter, distal part sometimes erect, unattached, with peristomes; granular overlay absent. Animals with tube diameter <0.2 mm. Some tubes may have one or more unpaired, inverted brood-chambers associated with peristomial rings. Operculum pearshaped, laterally compressed, usually with well-developed chitinous plate bearing spines. Opercular plate may be deeply infolded and sunk, angled, within the opercular ampulla, then with halves closely appressed; plate rarely flat and terminal. Rarely operculum a simple ampulla only. Peduncle smooth, cylindrical, without wings, separated from ampulla by constriction; inserted proximal to 1 st radiole on one side. Pseudoperculum absent. Arrangement of radioles short pectinate, only 2–3 radioles per lobe. Inter-radiolar membrane absent. Branchial eyes not observed. Stylodes absent. Mouth palps present. 4–6 thoracic chaetigerous segments present. Collar (tri-)quadri-lobed. Thoracic membranes short, reaching 1 st thoracic chaetiger. Collar chaetae absent. Apomatus chaetae present from second chaetiger onward. Thoracic and abdominal uncini rasp-shaped, with 6–8 teeth in a row in edge view and about 8 teeth in profile, anterior fang simple pointed ( Fig. 43A, B). Triangular depression absent. Single capillary chaeta in middle abdominal chaetigers accompanied by single flat narrow geniculate chaeta with blunt teeth ( Fig. 43C). Achaetous anterior abdominal zone long, followed by up to 15 chaetigers. Posterior capillary chaetae present ( Fig. 43D). Posterior glandular pad not observed.

Remarks. This little known species was incompletely described by Bush (1905) from a tiny worm collected on corals off Bermuda, characterized by numerous irregular spines in chitinous opercular plate. The type material was lost. Ben-Eliahu & ten Hove (1989) designated the neotype and re-described the species in detail. They also referred the monotypic Apomatolos Uchida, 1978 to Rhodopsis .

1. Rhodopsis pusilla Bush, 1905 , Bermuda, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indo-West Pacific

2. Rhodopsis simplex ( Uchida, 1978) , Kushimoto, Japan.