Syllides pumilus Hartmann-Schröder, 1983

San Martin, G & Hutchings, PA, 2006, Eusyllinae (Polychaeta: Syllidae) from Australia with the Description of a New Genus and Fifteen New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 58, pp. 257-370 : 361-362

Syllides pumilus Hartmann-Schröder, 1983

Fig. 88A–F

Syllides articulosus pumilus Hartmann-Schröder, 1983: 131 , figs 16, 17; 1984: 21; 1986: 42; 1987: 38; 1989: 26.

Material examined. AUSTRALIA: NEW SOUTH WALES: S of airport runway extension, Botany Bay, 33°58.13'S 151°11.16'E, 5 m, coll. Australian Museum party, 6 Apr 1992, 1 ( AM W23118); Currambene Creek, Jervis Bay, 35°02'S 150°40'E, intertidal unvegetated sediment, coll. L. Howitt, Dec 1988, 1 ( AM W22608). WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Dunsborough, 33°36'S 115°06'E, Posidonia & Halophila seagrasses, intertidal, coll. G. Hartmann-Schröder, 9 Nov 1975, 2 paratypes ( AM W196214); reef W of Groyne, 2 km S of Cape Peron, 32°16'S 115°41'E, orange sponge in deep channel in limestone reef, 4.5 m, coll. R.T. Springthorpe, 26 Dec 1984, 1 ( AM W28367); Limestone reef, off Ned’s camp, Cape Range National Park, 21°59'S 113°55'E, sponge with epiphytic algae, & muddy worm tubes, 1.5 m, coll. R.T. Springthorpe, 2 Jan 1984, 1 ( AM W27652).

Description. Body 2.4 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, with 30 chaetigers, dorsum with bright, minute inclusions, density of inclusions varies between individuals, fragile, most appendages missing on all specimens. Prostomium oval, with 4 eyes arranged in open trapezoidal pattern, and 2 anterior eyespots; 3 antennae all similar. Palps basally fused, shorter than prostomium ( Fig. 88A). Peristomium with hyaline inclusions, larger than inclusions on dorsum; tentacular cirri elongated, slightly club-shaped, longer than lateral antennae ( Fig. 88A), ventral tentacular cirri about two thirds length of dorsal cirri. Dorsal cirri of chaetigers 1, 2, elongated, longer than tentacular cirri, similar in length to body width; from chaetiger 3 onwards, dorsal cirri articulated ( Fig. 88A), with about 10 articles (up to 16, fide Hartmann-Schröder), cirri mostly broken, articles usually with 1–2 dark, granular inclusions. Parapodia trapezoidal dorsally, slightly larger on anterior parapodia, becoming conical and slender from mid parapodia onwards. Ventral cirri digitiform, similar in length or shorter than parapodial lobes. About 15 compound chaetae on anterior parapodia, numbers diminishing progressively along body to about 10; shafts with thin subdistal spines; blades elongated, bidentate, with short spines on margin, without basal spurs ( Fig. 88D– F), with dorsoventral gradation in length of blades within fascicle, about 50 µm in length dorsally, 20 µm in length ventrally, on midbody. Dorsal simple chaetae from chaetiger 1, distally blunt, with small distal hood and short spines on margin ( Fig. 88B). Ventral simple chaetae absent. All parapodia with single acicula, distally knobbed, with filiform, short tip ( Fig. 88C). Pharynx through 4 segments. Proventricle through 4 segments ( Fig. 88A), with 24–30 muscle cell rows.

Remarks. Syllides articulosus Ehlers, 1897 , from Magellan Strait, in South America, appears to be a different species to the Australian specimens that were described by Hartmann-Schröder (1983) as a subspecies Syllides articulosus pumilus . Syllides articulosus has a proventricle distinctly longer than the pharynx (see Ehlers, 1897, pl. II, Habitat. Occurring on sponges, algae, Posidonia , and in sediments, from intertidal to shallow depths.

Distribution. Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales).