Haplosyllis chamaeleon ( Laubier, 1960 )

Lattig, Patricia & Martin, Daniel, 2009, A taxonomic revision of the genus Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1887 (Polychaeta: Syllidae: Syllinae), Zootaxa 2220, pp. 1-40 : 15-16

Haplosyllis chamaeleon ( Laubier, 1960)

( Fig. 9 A–C)

Haplosyllis depressa chameleon Laubier, 1960: 75 , figs 1–2.— Alós, 1989: 359, figs 71–72.— Baratech & San Martín, 1987: 45, figs 8–9.

Haplosyllis chamaeleon .— López et al. 1996: 108 –110, fig. 2.— Licher, 1999: 280; Martín et al. 2002: 461, 464–470, figs 5B–G, 6–10.— San Martín, 2003: 320 –323, fig. 177–178.

Type material. Haplosyllis depressa chamaeleon from Banyuls-sur-Mer (W Mediterranean), coll. Yves Bouligand. Probably lost.

Examined material. NW Mediterranean Sea. 4 specimens MNCN 16.01/7834, Cape of Creus, from Paramuricea clavata , coll. C. Alós. Atlantic Ocean. 3 specimens MNCN 16.01/11362, Ria de Arousa, Pontevedra, Spain, from Paramuricea grayii , 30 m. coll. Álvaro "Boris" Altuna.

Diagnosis. Dark-violet marks across the dorsum, persistent in preserved specimens. All dorsal cirri long, longest ones, twice as long as body width; midbody dorsal cirri alternating with short (13–20 articles) and long (26–32 articles). Three to five hooked chaetae per parapodia, anterior and midbody unidentate ( Fig. 9 A) or with very small, hair-like distal tooth ( Fig. 9 B), more hooked and clearly bidentate in posterior parapodia ( Fig. 9 C); LMF shorter than SW.

Host. Strict ectosymbiont of the gorgonians Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and P. g r a y i i (Johnson, 1861). Details on the association with P. c l a v a t a in Laubier (1960) and Martin et al. (2002).

Reproduction. H. chamaeleon reproduces by cephalous stolons (more details in Martin et al. 2002).

Distribution. W Mediterranean Sea and E Atlantic Ocean.

Remarks. Originally described as a subspecies of Haplosyllis depressa ( H. depressa chamaeleon ) from Banyuls-sur-Mer (NW Mediterranean); the species was erected as a new valid one by López et al. (1996) based on specimens living on the same host gorgonian from Chafarinas Islands, SW Meditterannean Spain (35º11'08"N 2º25'14"W).

The specimens found in the Atlantic coasts of the NE Iberian Peninsula extends the geographical range of H. chamaeleon , which can no longer be regarded as Mediterranean endemic species. Similarly, the species was considered as a typical example of monoxenous symbiotic association ( Martin & Britayev, 1998; Martin et al. 2002), but the Atlantic specimens were associated with a different host gorgonian, Paramuricea grayii . Therefore, this is the first record both for the presence of the species in the Atlantic and for its association with P. g r a y i i.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Haplosyllis chamaeleon. A—anterior chaeta; B—midbody chaetae; C—posterior chaetae. Scale bar 20 Μm.