Westheidesyllis gesae ( Perkins 1981 )

Salcedo, Diana L., Martín, Guillermo San & Solís-Weiss, Vivianne, 2016, Eusyllinae, Exogoninae and Autolytinae (Syllidae: Polychaeta) from the Southern Mexican Pacific, with the description of three new species, Zootaxa 4158 (4), pp. 507-522 : 509

Westheidesyllis gesae ( Perkins 1981)

Pionosyllis gesae: Perkins, 1981: 1105 –1108, Fig. 10.─ Uebelacker, 1984: 30.69, Fig. 30–64. Westheidesyllis gesae: San Martín et al. 2009: 39 .

Material examined. 48 specimens (CNAP-ICML PO-37-102): 4 specimens, Caleta E1B2 16°49.797’N, 99°54.062’W, May 25 2006, 12 m, coarse sand. 4 specimens, Palmitas E2B1, 16°42.420’N, 99°54.733’W, May 25 2006, 10.5 m, coarse sand. 14 specimens, Palmitas E2B2, 16°42.420’N, 99°54.733’W, May 25 2006, 10.5 m, coarse sand. 17 specimens, El Jardín E3B1, 16°49.436’N, 99°54.981’W, May 26 2006, 12 m, coarse sand. 9 specimens, El Jardín E3B2, 16°49.436’N, 99°54.981’W, May 26 2006, 12 m, coarse sand.

Comparative material examined. Pionosyllis gesae : 4 specimens ( MNCN 16.01 /6697), Cuba: Punta Pedernales , Pinos Island , Canarreos Archipelago, Caribbean Sea, 35 m .

Remarks. According to San Martín et al. (2009), the genus Westheidesyllis includes only three species: Westheidesyllis corallicola ( Ding & Westheide 1997) , Westheidesyllis gesae ( Perkins 1981) and Westheidesyllis heterocirrata ( Hartmann-Schröder 1959) . W. corallicola differs from the other two by the absence of eyes and a shorter proventricle with only a few rows of muscular cells. Conversely, W. heterocirrata and W. gesae are considered closely related species (see Perkins, 1981), since the main differences between them are that W. heterocirrata lacks a conspicuous ciliation pattern and that all its falcigers are similar in shape, with coarse spines, while W. gesae has a distinctive ciliation pattern as well as superior falcigers with fine and uniform spines. However, the ciliation pattern of W. gesae is not apparent in some specimens, so that they could potentially be considered synonymous. Therefore, it would be advisable to review the type series of W. heterocirrata in order to verify this possibility. Until then, and since all the specimens herein reviewed agree well with the original description of W. gesae , they have been identified as such. We did note, though, a small difference in the shape of the aciculae in the specimens from Acapulco Bay, since they have a hollow and rounded distal end. This character is hard to observe, and thus might have been overlooked in previous studies, and we are identifying them as W. gesae .

Habitat. Interstitial on medium to coarse sand; algae.

Distribution. Florida, Cuba, Gulf of Mexico, Cabo Verde Islands and Southern Mexican Pacific (Acapulco Bay).