Sphaerosyllis longicauda Webster & Benedict, 1887

Linero-Arana, Ildefonso & Diaz Diaz, Oscarn, 2011, Syllidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, ZooKeys 117, pp. 1-28 : 5-6

Sphaerosyllis longicauda Webster & Benedict, 1887 Figs 1.22-1.24

Sphaerosyllis longicauda Webster and Benedict 1887:720, pl. 3, figs. 35-39.

Sphaerosyllis erinaceus Pettibone 1963:135-136, fig. 35a.- Gardiner 1976:131, fig. 10 s–v.

Sphaerosyllis longicauda Perkins 1981:1127, figs. 20 a–c, 21 a–i.– Uebelacker 1984:24-27, fig. 18 a–f.– Gobin 2010 (list only).

Material examined.

BMER203, (2), fine sand, 4 m depth; GCPT106, (4), fine sand, 0.5-1.5 m depth.

Description.

Length to 3.1 mm, width to 0.5 mm. Body slender, with up to 26 chaetigers. Papillae scattered, of different length. Prostomium with a pair of eyespots on anterior margin of prostomium, and four large, lentigerous eyes in arc on posterior region of prostomium. Nuchal organs small, rounded, posterior to lateral eyes. Palps wide and short, directed ventrally. Clavate antennae with enlarging basal zone. Tentacular cirri clavate, each with long cirriform dorsal papilla. Dorsal cirri subulate, replaced by a cirriform papilla on chaetiger 2. Dorsal simple chaeta bidentate slender, with slight serrations from chaetiger 1 (Fig. 1.22); dorsal compound falcigers uni and bidentate with serrated blades (Fig. 1.23). Ventral compound falcigers either smooth or with fine serrations. Slender ventral bidentate simple chaeta, only present on posterior chaetigers. Acicula enlarged subdistally, with curved, pointed tip (Fig. 1.24). Pharynx extending through 3 chaetigers, with dorsal tooth located near anterior margin; proventriculus through 3-4 chaetigers with 16-20 rows of muscle cells. Pygidium with a pair of stout anal cirri.

Distribution.

Maine to Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela.