Thelepus Leuckart, 1849

Londoño-Mesa, Mario H., 2009, Terebellidae (Polychaeta: Terebellida) from the Grand Caribbean region 2320, Zootaxa 2320 (1), pp. 1-93 : 77

Thelepus Leuckart, 1849

Leuckart, 1849:169. Malmgren, 1866:386–387 (emend.).— Hessle, 1917:212.— Hutchings & Glasby, 1986:112.— Hartmann-Schröder, 1996:528.— Capa & Hutchings, 2006:23.

Synonyms: Lumara Stimpson, 1854; Phenacia de Quatrefages, 1865 ; Venusia Johnston, 1865 ; Heterophenacia de Quatrefages, 1865 ; Neottis Malmgren, 1866 ; Thelephusa Verrill, 1871 ; Thelepodopsis Sars, 1872 ; Protothelepus Verrill, 1900 ; Terebellanice Hartmann-Schröder, 1962 .

Type species: Amphitrite cincinnatus Fabricius, 1780 , by subsequent designation.

Diagnosis: Zero to three pairs of digitate and sessile branchiae from segment 2; eyespots sometimes present; lateral lappets absent; ventral shields from segment 2; nephridial papillae present on range of segments 2–8; variable number of pairs of notopodia from segment 3; chaetae smooth-tipped, limbate, or oar-like; pairs of neuropodia from segment 5 until posterior end; uncini avicular, subrostral process button-shaped.

Remarks: According to Holthe (1986b), there are no valid species described from the Grand Caribbean region; Thelepus crassibranchiatus Treadwell, 1901 , from Porto Rico, was regarded as a junior synonym to T. cincinnatus ( Fabricius, 1780) , from Greenland, by Hartman (1959). Thelepus haitiensis Treadwell, 1931 , from Haiti, was likewise regarded as a junior synonym to T. setosus ( de Quatrefages, 1865) , from France and the latter considered cosmopolitan. Nevertheless, type specimens of these synonymized species were compared with non-type specimens from the type locality of T. cincinnatus and T. setosus , and some important morphological differences were found. On the other hand, Hutchings and Glasby (1986) regarded both Euthelepus pascua Fauchald, 1977 , from Panama, and Euthelepus tenuis ( Verrill, 1900) , from Bermuda, as members of Thelepus because of the absence of lateral lappets. Streblosoma verrilli Treadwell, 1911 , belongs in Thelepus because it has notopodia from segment 3, instead of notochaetae from segment 2, as in Streblosoma . Finally, Londoño-Mesa and Carrera-Parra (2005) reported Thelepus sp. from the Mexican Caribbean and Gulf of Honduras. Thus, after this revision, the Grand Caribbean region has six distinct species: five valid ones and one unnamed.