Leodice, Gunton & Kupriyanova & Alvestad & Avery & Blake & Biriukova & Böggemann & Borisova & Budaeva & Burghardt & Capa & Georgieva & Glasby & Hsueh & Hutchings & Jimi & Kongsrud & Langeneck & Meißner & Murray & Nikolic & Paxton & Ramos & Schulze & Sobczyk & Watson & Wiklund & Wilson & Zhadan & Zhang, 2021

Gunton, Laetitia M., Kupriyanova, Elena K., Alvestad, Tom, Avery, Lynda, Blake, James A., Biriukova, Olga, Boeggemann, Markus, Borisova, Polina, Budaeva, Nataliya, Burghardt, Ingo, Capa, Maria, Georgieva, Magdalena N., Glasby, Christopher J., Hsueh, Pan-Wen, Hutchings, Pat, Jimi, Naoto, Kongsrud, Jon A., Langeneck, Joachim, Meissner, Karin, Murray, Anna, Nikolic, Mark, Paxton, Hannelore, Ramos, Dino, Schulze, Anja, Sobczyk, Robert, Watson, Charlotte, Wiklund, Helena, Wilson, Robin S., Zhadan, Anna & Zhang, Jinghuai, 2021, Annelids of the eastern Australian abyss collected by the 2017 RV ' Investigator' voyage, ZooKeys 1020, pp. 1-198 : 1

Leodice sp. nov. Fig. 8C, D

Diagnosis.

Prostomial lobes frontally rounded, bilobed, slightly notched. Eyes behind bases of palps. Prostomial appendages evenly spaced, with palps slightly thinner than antennae. Antennal styles and palpostyles without articulations. Peristomial rings distinct dorsally and ventrally, continuous laterally. Peristomial (tentacular) cirri present, reach anterior region of peristomium, styles tapering, without articulations.

Maxillae dentition: Mx I left 1, right 1. Mx II left 7, right 9. Mx III left 12 (right absent). Mx IV left 6, right 11. Mx V left 1, right 1.

Branchiae present from chaetiger 4. Branchiae distinctly longer than dorsal cirri. Maximum number of branchial filaments 12-13 (at ~ chaetiger 10-12); five or six anterior chaetigers with single branchial filaments, no posterior chaetigers with single branchial filaments. Branchiae continuing until chaetiger 32-34. Ventral cirri of anterior segments digitiform.

Compound falcigers present, appendages bidentate, hoods without mucros (rounded). Aciculae light yellow, translucent. Subacicular hooks colour light yellow, translucent, bidentate.

Variation.

A number of very small specimens (<~ 1.5 mm maximum width) differ from the above description in having at most three or four branchial filaments, and a single specimen much larger than the remaining material has <18 branchial filaments. These specimens apparently do not differ in other respects and all are assumed to represent a single species.

Remarks.

This species clearly belongs in the genus Leodice following the generic concept of Zanol et al. (2020), but cannot be referred to any of the species known from Australia.

Records.

28 specimens. Suppl. material 1: ops. 13, 22, 44, 69, 70, 86, 100, 104, 115 (MV).

Figures

Figure 8. Eunicidae A Eunice sp. nov., anterior view (AM W. 50148) B Maxillae of Eunice sp. nov. (AM W. 50148) C Leodice sp. nov., anterior view (AM W. 50146) D Maxillae of Leodice sp. nov. (AM W. 50152). Scale bars: 2 mm (A, C); 1 mm (B, D).