Nereiphylla de Blainville, 1828

Salazar-Vallejo, Sergio I., 2022, New species of hesionid and phyllodocid polychaetes (Annelida, Errantia) from Clipperton Island, Zoosystema 44 (1), pp. 1-26 : 14-16

Genus Nereiphylla de Blainville, 1828

Neriphylla de Blainville, 1828: 465-466 . — Hartman 1959: 157. — Pleijel 1991: 235. — Alós 2004: 121.

Genetyllis Malmgren, 1865: 93 . — Hartman 1959: 153.

TYPE SPECIES. — Nereiphylla paretti de Blainville, 1828 , by subsequent designation ( Bergström 1914: 102, 163).

DIAGNOSIS (modified after Pleijel 1991). — Phyllodocids with prostomium oval, with two oblong tapered lateral antennae; without median antenna or nuchal papilla. Nuchal organs not projected posteriorly. Four pairs of tentacular cirri, all cirriform, usually medially wider. Median segments with dorsal cirri cordate to oval, without aciculae. Ventral cirri oblique to neurochaetal lobes. Acicular lobes of similar size. Neurochaetal shafts with long marginal denticles. Anal cirri basally wider. Pharyngeal surface with diffuse round papillae.

DISTRIBUTION. — The species of Nereiphylla have been described from tropical, temperate and polar localities throughout the world, mostly in shallow water.

REMARKS

Many authors preferred to use the junior synonym, Genetyllis Malmgren, 1867 , over Nereiphylla . Among these authors is Day (1967), whereas others used first the older ( Fauvel 1923) and later the younger names ( Fauvel 1953). Some other authors regarded both genera as valid ( Bergström 1914; Hartman 1959), being separated by having cylindrical versus depressed tentacular cirri. Pleijel (1991: 235) noted tentacular cirri are flatter in larger specimens of both genera and concluded they could not be kept separate on this single difference and regarded them as synonyms. For the key to species, the lists available in WoRMS ( Read & Fauchald 2020a, b) were adjusted mostly after Pleijel (1991).

KEY TO SPECIES OF NEREIPHYLLA DE BLAINVILLE, 1828

REMARKS

Nereiphylla albovittata Grube, 1860 from the Adriatic Sea has not been found again, and it could not be incorporated in the key, but it can be keyed out by using keys in Fauvel (1923). Nereiphylla oculata (M’Intosh, 1885) , described with hesitation as belonging in Genetyllis , from the Celebes Sea, does not belong in Nereiphylla . The specimen was slightly dried-out when McIntosh studied it, and he indicated it had several unique features. For example, the eyes resemble those present in alciopins, the tentacular cirri are displaced anteriorly and dorsally, such that they are arranged transverse to body length axis, and he also indicated the body wall differs from what is seen in other phyllodocids. Chaetae are compound falcigers, but nothing else could be indicative for its generic placement, and if its prostomial and tentacular cirri features are corroborated, it might represent an unknown group of bathypelagic polychaetes. The anterior end of the single specimen was subjected to histological sectioning for illustrating fine details of eyes, although it was referred to as N. lutea ( Malmgren, 1865) in the following page with a contribution by Marcus Gunn on the eyes and cephalic ganglion. In any case, being it a confusion of the species name, or a detailed study based on the Scandinavian species, fresh specimens from the Celebes Sea are needed to clarify its affinities.

1. Dorsal cirri cordate ................................................................................................................................. 2

— Dorsal cirri oval .................................................................................................................................... 16

2(1). Dorsal cirri blunt .................................................................................................................................... 3

— Dorsal cirri with a distal attenuation; prostomium wider than long ...................................................... 12

3(2). Dorsal cirri as long as wide ..................................................................................................................... 4

— Dorsal cirri longer than wide .................................................................................................................. 8

— Dorsal cirri wider than long, prostomium oval; eyes 1/10 as long a prostomial width; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 5; ventral cirri lanceolate ................................. ................................................................................................................. N. vittata Ehlers, 1864 Adriatic.

4(3). Prostomium oval ..................................................................................................................................... 5

— Prostomium cordate; ventral cirri oval (200 segments) ............................................................................... .............................................................................. N. castanea von Marenzeller, 1879 ( Izuka 1912) Japan.

5(4). Eyes large, 1/3-¼ prostomial width ........................................................................................................... 6

— Eyes 1/6 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 7; dorsal cirri deep purple or red ................................. N. fragilis ( Webster, 1879) Virginia.

6(5). Lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width ................................................................................... 7

— Lateral antennae about as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach chaetiger 9-10; dorsal cirri brownish with yellowish margins ..................................................... N. paretti de Blainville, 1828 France.

7(6). Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 10; prostomium with a posterior median notch; dorsal cirri with reddish spots ............................................. N. macrophthalma (Hartmann-Schröder, 1979) Iberian Peninsula.

— Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 7; prostomium with posterior margin entire; dorsal cirri reddish to orange brownish ............................................................... N. castanea sensu Alós, 2004 Iberian Peninsula.

8(3). Prostomium oval, longer than wide, rarely rectangular ............................................................................ 9

— Prostomium cordate, as long as wide; lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width ............................. ...................................................................................................... N. hera Kato & Mawatari, 1999 Japan.

9(8). Eyes large, ¼ as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; dorsal cirri markedly longer than wide; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 7 (palps and antennae with subdistal constriction?) .......................................................................................... N. dohrnii ( Langerhans, 1880) Madeira.

— Eyes small, 1/6-1/7 as long as prostomial width ........................................................................................ 10

10(9). Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 5; ventral cirri oval, blunt .......................................................... 11

— Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 17; lateral antennae twice longer than prostomial width; ventral cirri oval, pointed ................................................................................ N. ferruginea ( Moore, 1909) California.

11(10).Lateral antennae 1/3 as long as prostomial width; prostomium oval; ventral cirri longer than neurochaetal lobe ............................................................................... N. castanea sensu Gardiner 1976 North Carolina.

— Lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width; prostomium rectangular; ventral cirri barely longer than neurochaetal lobe ......................................................................................... N. etiennei n. sp. Clipperton.

12(2). Dorsal cirri longer than wide ................................................................................................................ 13

— Dorsal cirri wider than long .................................................................................................................. 14

13(12).Eyes 1/5 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width; ventral cirri lanceolate, blunt .................................................................... N. rubiginosa (de Saint-Joseph, 1888) Brittany, France.

— Eyes 1/3 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; ventral cirri oval, blunt. ................................................................................................ N. undulaticirra Averincev, 1972 Antarctic.

14(12).Prostomium as long as wide .................................................................................................................. 15

— Prostomium longer than wide; eyes 1/5 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width ................................................................................................. N. lutea ( Malmgren, 1865) Sweden.

15(14).Eyes small, 1/8 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae blunt; ventral cirri longer than neurochaetal lobe ....................................................................................... N. polyphylla ( Ehlers, 1897) South Georgia.

— Eyes large, ¼ as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae tapered; ventral cirri as long as neurochaetal lobe ........ N. castanea ( von Marenzeller, 1879) sensu Gathof 1984 ; Salazar-Vallejo 1996 Grand Caribbean.

16(1). Dorsal cirri as long as wide, or longer than wide ................................................................................... 17

— Dorsal cirri wider than long .................................................................................................................. 24

17(16).Dorsal cirri as long as wide; prostomium as long as wide; eyes ¼ as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 5; ventral cirri oval, blunt .............. ........................................................................................ N. pusilla ( Claparède, 1870) Mediterranean Sea.

— Dorsal cirri longer than wide ................................................................................................................ 18

18(17).Prostomium as long as wide .................................................................................................................. 19

— Prostomium longer than wide ............................................................................................................... 23

— Prostomium wider than long; eyes ¼ as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 5 ..................................................................................................... N. mimica Eibye-Jacobsen, 1992 Belize.

19(18).With eyes .............................................................................................................................................. 20

— Without eyes; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segments 3-4 ..... .............................................................................................. N. antennata Hartman, 1965 New England.

20(19).Lateral antennae long, as long as, or longer than prostomium ............................................................... 21

— Lateral antennae short, 1/7 as long as prostomial width; eyes 1/5 as long as prostomial width ....................... ........................................................................................... N. violacea Hartmann-Schröder, 1965 Samoa.

21(20).First tentacular cirri as long as segment width; eyes ¼ as long as prostomial width ................................ 22

–First tentacular cirri half as long as segment width; eyes 1/6 as long as prostomial width ....................................... ....................................................................................................... N. bermudae ( Verrill, 1900) Bermuda.

22(21).Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 8-9; lateral antennae longer than prostomial width ........................ .................................................................................................... N. castanea sensu Blake, 1997 California.

— Longest tentacular cirri reach segment 10; lateral antennae as long as prostomial width ............................. ............................................................................................... N. tuberculata ( Bobretzky, 1868) Black Sea.

23(18).Eyes 1/5 as long as prostomial width; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 5-6; ventral cirri lanceolate ...... .................................................................................................. N. gruai (Rullier, 1972) Kerguelen Island.

— Without eyes; longest tentacular cirri reach segment 9-10; ventral cirri oval ............................................... ............................................................................................................ N. caeca Averincev, 1972 Antarctic.

24(16).Lateral antennae as long as prostomial width; eyes 1/3 as long as prostomial width ...................................... ........................................................................................ N. magnaoculata (Treadwell, 1902) Puerto Rico.

— Lateral antennae shorter than prostomial width .................................................................................... 25

25(24).Eyes large, ¼ as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae half as long as prostomial width ...................... ................................................................................................................... N. crassa Imajima, 2003 Japan.

— Eyes small, 1/7 as long as prostomial width; lateral antennae 1/3 as long as prostomial width ........................ ............................................................................................................... N. pusilla sensu Alós, 2004 Iberia.