Pomatostegus stellatus ( Abildgaard, 1789 )

Bastida-Zavala, J. Rolando, 2008, Serpulids (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Eastern Pacific, including a brief mention of Hawaiian serpulids, Zootaxa 1722, pp. 1-61 : 34

Pomatostegus stellatus ( Abildgaard, 1789)

( Figure 7S)

Terebella stellata Abildgaard, 1789: 142–144 , pl. A, figs. 5A–B. Type locality: West Indies, Western Atlantic.

Pomatostegus stellatus .— Bastida-Zavala, 1993: 25, Cabo Pulmo Reef (Baja California Sur, Mexico).

Pomatostegus stellatus .— Bastida-Zavala and Salazar-Vallejo, 2001a: 815–817, figs. 3b, 5g –q, 6a–d, Mexican Caribbean, Cayo Alacranes, Ria Lagartos and Cuba.

Material examined. Five specimens: Baja California Sur ( Mexico), UMAR-Poly 82, 2 spec. (23º24–25’N, 109º25’W, Cabo Pulmo Reef, second and third bars, on dead coral Pocillopora , 7–12 m, May 7–8, 1989, coll. PH, JK & JRBZ); ECOSUR s.n., UMAR-Poly 83, 3 spec. (approx. 26º00’51”N, 111º20’21”W, Loreto pier, in pier pilots, oysters, March 3, 2004, coll. MATH & PSS) .

Diagnosis. Tube white, sometimes covered by algae of brownish colour, inner tube surface of bluish or violet colour, outer surface with five longitudinal ridges, the middle largest, forming an elevated crest as strong spine in anteriormost tube section; tube lacks peristomes or alveoli. Opercular peduncle smudged, with wide wings. Operculum chitinous, forming several (3–6) concentric festooned plates, jointed by central hollow column ( Fig. 7S); distal tip of column with lateral spines, forming a star (similar stars present below each plate, although obscured by close packing of consecutive plates). Thoracic membrane extends to last thoracic chaetiger. Collar with “ Spirobranchus ” chaetae, coarsely serrated in subapical section.

Habitat. Depth: intertidal to 17 m. On dead coral Pocillopora verrucosa , on rocks and oysters.

Distribution. Circumtropical. Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea to Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Micronesia, Japan; Gulf of California ( Pillai 1960; Imajima 1977; Imajima & ten Hove 1984; Bastida-Zavala 1993; Bastida-Zavala & Salazar-Vallejo 2001a).

Taxonomic remarks. Although the species was described from the Caribbean, the specimens from the Eastern Pacific revised here agree with the description of material from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean ( Bastida-Zavala & Salazar-Vallejo 2001).