Chitinopomoides Benham, 1927

Ten Hove, Harry A. & Kupriyanova, Elena K., 2009, Taxonomy of Serpulidae (Annelida, Polychaeta): The state of affairs, Zootaxa 2036, pp. 1-126 : 32-33

5. Chitinopomoides Benham, 1927

( Figs 12, 51A–D)

Type-species: Chitinopoides wilsoni Benham, 1927

Number of species: 1

Tube white, opaque, triangular in cross-section, with a smooth longitudinal keel and sometimes 2 poorlydefined smooth ridges along the sides. Tube with irregularly placed former peristomes, questionably with brood care function. Granular overlay not observed. Operculum fig-shaped with bilaterally symmetrical concave chitinous endplate. Peduncle smooth, subtriangular in cross-section, without distal wings; inserted just below and between 1 st and 2 nd radiole (=second radiole). Pseudoperculum absent. Arrangement of radioles short pectinately, up to 10 pairs of radioles. Inter-radiolar membrane absent. Branchial eyes unknown. Stylodes absent. Mouth palps not observed. 7 thoracic chaetigerous segments. Collar trilobed with entire edge, tonguelets between ventral and lateral collar lobes absent. Thoracic membranes short, ending at second chaetiger; no apron. Collar chaetae fin-and-blade ( Benham (1927): “with a large knob and few proximal additional teeth below the limbate zone”, Fig. 12A), and limbate. Apomatus chaetae present ( Fig. 12E). Thoracic uncini saw-shaped with about 12 teeth, anterior peg blunt, seemingly bifurcate (slightly gouged?) ( Fig. 12B). Triangular depression absent. Abdominal chaetae flat geniculate with large distal triangular blade ( Fig. 12D). Abdominal uncini all rasp-shaped ( Fig. 12C), with more teeth in posterior segments than in the anterior ones, with at least 12 teeth seen in profile. Achaetous anterior abdominal zone absent. Posterior capillary chaetae short, glandular pad present.

Remarks. Chitinopomoides wilsoni was previously known from a single specimen dredged in the Ross Sea. Zibrowius (1969a) re-examined the specimen and expanded Benham’s description of the chaetae and uncini. However, as the collar chaetae of the specimen were all broken, Zibrowius could not re-examine their structure and thus, generic justification of Chitinopomoides was questionable. A redescription (below) based on new unpublished material allowed us to elucidate the ultrastructure of collar (and other) chaetae with use of SEM. A possible relationship with other genera will be discussed in (a) forthcoming paper(s) by us.