Polycirrus elisabethae McIntosh, 1915

Glasby, Christopher J. & Hutchings, Pat, 2014, Revision of the taxonomy of Polycirrus Grube, 1850 (Annelida: Terebellida: Polycirridae), Zootaxa 3877 (1), pp. 1-117 : 51-54

Polycirrus elisabethae McIntosh, 1915

Fig. 26a–e

Polycirrus elisabethae McIntosh, 1915: 35–36 .

Polycirrus haematodes .— McIntosh, 1922: 198–200, pl. 127, figs. 2, 2d.— Not P. haematodes Claparède, 1864 .

Type locality. St Andrews , Scotland .

Material examined. LECTOTYPE designated herein ( NHMUK 2014.6. 1) Scotland, St Andrews , 56°20ʹ13.32ʺ N, 2°46ʹ53.68ʺ W, from debris of fishing boats . PARALECTOTYPES: 2, BMNH ZK 1921 :5:1:4119, same locality .

Description. Lectotype designated from amongst McIntosh's syntypes, well preserved with body wall damaged and large parts removed but chaetae mainly intact, colourless, one complete individual, 7 mm long, 1 mm wide excluding buccal tentacles, complete with about 30 segments. Sex unknown.

Dorsum anteriorly tessellated. Venter anteriorly with mid-ventral groove and discrete ventro-lateral pads; pads more-or-less smooth, extending from segment 3. Mid-ventral groove from segment 4 ( Fig. 26a ).

Buccal tentacles of two types, most missing: (1) cylindrical, thickened distally, distinctly grooved and (2) cylindrical, uniformly thin and weakly grooved, both arising at junction between prostomium and upper lip. Prostomial ridge slightly curved, extending laterally along anterodorsal base of upper lip. Upper lip comprising single (medial) lobe only, margin of lobe straight; oral surface glandular, ciliated, with grooves leading to mouth. Inner lower lip oblong (narrow; hidden by upper lip), smooth; outer region flat, shield-like, subtriangular and pointing toward mouth, ridged and grooved, extending posteriorly to segment 3. Achaetous segments visible dorsally but obscured by expanded outer lower lip ventrally ( Fig. 26a ).

Notochaetigerous segments 16, extending to segment 18. Notopodia more-or-less rectangular, prechaetal lobe low, postchaetal lobe digitiform, postchaetal lobe longer than prechaetal ( Fig. 26b ). Notochaetae within a chaetiger of one type (chaetigers 4, 14 examined), two distinct lengths, hirsute, uniformly tapered, posteriorly same form as those anteriorly ( Fig. 26c ). Neurochaetae beginning on segment 11. Neuropodial tori ridge like, similar along body. Uncini with short neck and straight to convex base (Type 1), teeth above main fang arranged in double transverse series ( MF:1:11–15) enlarged median tooth above main fang present, subrostral process present as low, angular protuberance ( Fig. 26d, e ) .

Nephridial papillae present, globular, small and flattened. Pre-gular membrane nephridial papillae absent. Post-gular membrane nephridial papillae present, extending from segments 5 to 8; situated at posteroventral base of notopodia. Pygidium simple rosette.

Comments. McIntosh described P. elisabethae in 1915, although briefly with no illustrations. Subsequently (1922) he illustrated the chaetae and formally synonymised it with P. haematodes ( Claparède, 1864) , described from Port Vendres on the French Mediterranean coast. However, after re-examination of McIntosh’s material, we believe that his specimens represent a distinct species and therefore should be removed from synonymy. McIntosh did not provide a precise locality for P. elisabethae in the original description, although from the title of his paper it is likely to be in the region of St Andrews, Scotland. However, the original label indicates that the specimens were collected from the debris of fishing boats at St Andrews. We have therefore designated the best specimen as the lectotype, and St Andrews is fixed as the type locality.

Hessle (1917), Hartman (1959), and Holthe (1986a) considered P. elisabethae to be perhaps the same as P. norvegicus . Although the two species are both in the North Sea (although on opposite sides), we reject this synonymisation because of differences in the shape of the lower lip (longer than wide in P. norvegicus and wider than long in P. elisabethae ) and the shape and dentition of the uncini (more prominent subrostral process and 11–15 minute teeth surmounting the MF in P. elisabethae compared to only 1–4 larger teeth in P. norvegicus ). It seems unlikely that P. elisabethae is synonymous with P. haematodes given the distance between type localities, but as we have been unsuccessful in locating the type material of P. haematodes , which we currently regard as a species inquirenda, the necessary comparison of type specimens is presently not possible.

Figures

FIGURE 26. Polycirrus elisabethae McIntosh. Lectotype BMNH ZK 1921.5.1.4119. a. Anterior ventral view. b. Left side anterior lateral view of notopodium, chaetiger 4. c. Two different length notochaetae from chaetiger 4. d. Frontal views of uncini from mid-body chaetiger. e. Lateral and frontal views of uncini from posterior body chaetiger. Scales in mm as indicated.