Apionsoma misakianum (Ikeda, 1904)

Dean, Harlan K., Hernández-Ávila, Iván & Cutler, Edward B., 2007, Sipunculans of the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Curaçao, Zootaxa 1431, pp. 45-54 : 50

Apionsoma misakianum (Ikeda, 1904)

Phascolosoma misakianum Ikeda, 1904:7 –9.

Specimens collected:

CUMAN Á: EBC –STA 311: 5/i/88; Playa Colarada, west of Mochima; (12).

Remarks. Members of this genus possess a relatively elongate introvert and hooks with basal spinelets at the base (one species ( Apionsoma trichocephalus Sluiter, 1902 ) lacks hooks). A. misakianum is recognized by its continuous muscle layers, thin, semitransparent body wall and long introvert (more than nine times the body length).

Distribution. Apionsoma misakianum is most often found in coralline sands and under algal mats in tide pools rather than being associated with hard substrates. It is known from the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil in the western Atlantic and Caribbean as well as both sides of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean ( Cutler, 1994).