Euthelepus kritzleri, Londoño-Mesa, 2009

Londoño-Mesa, Mario H., 2009, Terebellidae (Polychaeta: Terebellida) from the Grand Caribbean region 2320, Zootaxa 2320 (1), pp. 1-93 : 69-71

Euthelepus kritzleri sp. nov.

Figures 20 A-G

Euthelepus sp. A ., Kritzler, 1984:52–68 to 70; Figs 52–65, 66A-E.

Type material: Holotype USNM 90602 (1) Off St. Petersburg, Florida, Gulf of Mexico (27º56'30"N 83º53'00"W), XI.1977; MAFLA by BLM, sta. II-2211; 43m. In coarse sand.

Etymology: A provisional specific name, E. pluribranchia , was initially given in a small note inside the vial, written by Dr. Henry Kritzler, but the new name was never published. This name is not kept because of a species described by Hutchings (1997), E. marchinbar , has similar number of branchial filaments. Thus, this new species is dedicated to Dr. Henry Kritzler, due to his excellent work describing species of terebellids from the Caribbean .

Description: Holotype incomplete, 39 segments, 19.8mm long, 1.9mm wide. Thoracic dorsum smooth ( Figs 20A,B ). Upper lip short, wide, with rounded edge. Lower lip swollen, almost as wide as upper lip. Tentacular membrane short, with edge rounded, slightly everted; eyespots absent. Few short tentacles left, without any pigmentation ( Fig. 20C ). Three pairs of lateral lappets ( Fig. 20D ); first pair longest and thickest; third pair reduced. Nine ventral shields from segment 3; anterior most shield thin and wide, second shield thicker than previous, but thinner than third; then, swollen. Ventral groove from segment 13, beginning wider, and becoming narrower to posterior end of fragment. Branchiae with thin and sessile filaments. First pair of branchiae fused in continuous transverse line, with 15 filaments; second pair with 6–7 filaments in each group separated by narrow gap; third pair with 9 filaments in each group separated by wider gap. Nephridial papillae not seen. Notopodial glandular tissue whitish, dorsal to notopodium and along fragment; after segment 16, glandular tissue only surrounding notopodia. Notopodia equal-sized; 36 pairs of notopodia; notochaetae smooth, bilimbate asymmetrically, finely pointed, with longitudinal striations ( Fig. 20E ). First 8 pairs of neuropodia swollen and wide, then increasing in size up to end of fragment. Thoracic and abdominal uncini ( Figs 20F,G , respectively) with dental formula MF:2:3; PP and PF absent; Oc strongly convex; Cp with two teeth over the MF, as long as one third of it; Sr long and narrow; SrP as a long square button close to a rounded AP; SrA absent; AF absent; Bs curved. Pygidium not present.

Staining pattern: The body stains deeply dorsally along segments 4–14 ( Fig. 20A ); ventrally, first 8 ventral shields stain uniformly ( Fig. 20B ). Lateral lappets, notopodial glandular tissue, and notopodia stain strongly on the first 14 segments. Notopodial glandular tissue, including notopodia, stains as isolate rounded spot after segment 15 ( Fig. 20B ). Rest of the structures not stained.

Discussion: Euthelepus kritzleri sp. nov., is easily recognizable by the filaments of the first pair of branchiae forming a continuous row across dorsum. According to Hutchings and Glasby (1986), E. kinsenboensis Augener, 1918 , from Angola, and E. serratus Hutchings & Glasby, 1986 , from New South Wales, have the first two pairs of branchiae with filaments forming continuous rows; E. setubalensis McIntosh, 1885 , from Portugal, has the first and third pair of branchiae separated by a narrow gap, and the second pair by a wide gap; and E. marchinbar Hutchings, 1997 , from northern Australia, has all pairs of branchiae separated by wide gaps, although it has similar number of branchial filaments than E. kritzleri sp. nov. Thus, E. kritzleri sp. nov., differs from E. marchinbar in that it has the filaments of the first pair of branchiae forming a continuous row across dorsum.

There are some discrepancies from Kritzler’s description. He stated that the third pair of lateral lappets was the longest, instead of the second pair; that the first pair of branchiae was arranged in two separate groups, with three filaments in each group; the second and third pair of branchiae had two filaments in each group. But according to this description, the first pair of lateral lappets is the longest, while the third is reduced; the first pair of branchiae forms a continuous row across the dorsum, and second and third pair have 6–7 and 9 filaments, respectively. Moreover, the illustration shows first pair of branchiae separately and only with two filaments. Also, I could not find the last row of 5–6 minute denticules in the uncini, which have the formula MF:2:5:5–6.

Type locality: St. Petersburg, Florida , Gulf of Mexico.

Distribution: Restricted to type locality.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Euthelepus kritzleri sp. nov., (Holotype USNM 90602): A. Specimen in dorsal view. B. Specimen in ventral view. C. Anterior end in dorsal view. D. Anterior end in ventral view. E. Notochaetae from anterior thoracic region. F-G. Uncini from anterior thoracic region. Scale bars: A,B: 2.9mm; C,D: 0.9mm; E: 0.08mm; F,G: 0.03mm.