Leodice rubella ( Knox, 1951 ) Zanol & Hutchings & Fauchald, 2020

Zanol, Joana, Hutchings, Pat A. & Fauchald, Kristian, 2020, Eunice sensu latu (Annelida: Eunicidae) from Australia: description of seven new species and comments on previously reported species of the genera Eunice, Leodice and Nicidion, Zootaxa 4748 (1), pp. 1-43 : 28

Leodice rubella ( Knox, 1951) n. comb.

Eunice rubella Knox, 1951:66 .— Fauchald, 1986: 255; 1992: 288.

Material examined. Australia, New South Wales. Camden Haven , 31°39’S, 152°50’E, pres. Dr. J.C. Cox, VI 1896 collected on or before 01 Jun 1896, AM W.197123 (l). New Zealand. Off Otago, 45°48’S, 170°53’E, 75 m depth, coll. E.J. Batham, 2 Sep 1969 , W197080 (l).

Remarks. The Australian specimen differs from the type and from New Zealand specimen in that the branchiae have five filaments where best developed, rather than two as in the New Zealand material. In addition, the subacicular hooks in the Australian specimen have distinctly curved proximal teeth; in the New Zealand material the proximal teeth are straight-sided and triangular. Leodice rubella resembles L. bowerbanki Baird 1869 in that both have branchiae from chaetiger 5; dark subacicular hooks from about chaetiger 30 and distinctly beaded antennae. The two species differ in that the branchiae are far less developed in L. rubella in which a maximum of five filaments have been recorded, than in L. bowerbanki in which as many as 15 filaments are present. The type of L. bowerbanki is complete consisting of 142 chaetigers and is 95 mm; the type of L. rubella had 112 chaetigers and was 60 mm long. The difference in size appears to be too small to account for the great difference in numbers of branchial filaments present.

Type locality. Banks Peninsula , New Zealand .