Micronephthys stammeri ( Augener, 1932 )

Murray, Anna, Wong, Eunice & Hutchings, Pat, 2015, Nephtyidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) of Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Zootaxa 4019 (1), pp. 414-436 : 428-431

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4019.1.16

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B8E7FD63-30C0-4B21-B824-36D778D175A0

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A487E4-3966-AF0E-FF61-51D4FF0AAFD8

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Micronephthys stammeri ( Augener, 1932 )
status

 

Micronephthys stammeri ( Augener, 1932) View in CoL

( Figs 10–11 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 )

Nephtys stammeri Augener, 1932: 678 , fig. 2.

Nephtys inermis Augener, 1932: 663 View in CoL .

Micronephthys stammeri View in CoL .— Hartman 1950: 131; Banse 1959: 302, fig. 6. Micronephthys maryae San Martín, 1982: 428 View in CoL –433, figs 1–3. non Micronephthys maryae View in CoL .— Rainer & Kaly 1988: 696 –698, fig. 5. non Micronephthys cf. stammeri View in CoL .— Dixon-Bridges et al. 2014: 515.

Material examined. Queensland, Lizard Island: AM W.44021 (1), MI QLD 2340; AM W.45036 (2), AM W.45157 (4), AM W.45502 (1), MI QLD 2441; AM W.45173 (2), AM W.46972 (many, 2 photographed), MI QLD 2440; AM W.45474 (1), MI QLD 2444; AM W.45501 (2), MI QLD 2443; AM W.46980 (3, 1 on SEM), MI QLD 2432; AM W.46982 (1), MI QLD 2431; AM W.47228 (10), 100 m off Mangrove Beach, 14°40'S, 145°28'E, sand, 3.6 m, 11 Oct 1978.

Comparative material examined. Specimens identified by Rainer & Kaly (1988: 696–698, fig. 5) as Micronephthys maryae : Western Australia, Northwest Shelf, CSIRO North-West Shelf Project, FRV "Soela": AM W. 200668 (1), 19°58'48"S, 117°51'24"E, 41 m, 26 Oct 1983; AM W. 200669 (1), 19°59'12"S, 118°04'00"E, 32 m, 10 Dec 1982; AM W. 200670 (3), 19°04'18"S, 119°00'36"E, 82 m, 1 Sep 1983.

Description. Complete specimens up to 14 mm long, 1.4 mm wide, and> 60 chaetigers for longest specimens. Preserved specimens without pigment. Prostomium subquadrangular to subpentagonal in shape. Antennae and palps equal in length and cirriform with swollen tips ( Figs 10 View FIGURE 10 A, 11A–C). Nuchal pits round and situated at posterior corners of prostomium. Two pairs of visible subdermal coalesced eyes present middorsally in chaetiger two (with pharynx everted, Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 B) or in anterior part of chaetiger 3, (with pharynx not everted, Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 A); ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 B). Pharynx with 9 pairs of terminal bifid papillae with a single middorsal terminal papilla, and 20–22 subdistal longitudinal rows of 5–9 elongate papillae, which diminish in size and continue proximally as rows of minute papillae ( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 B–C); elongate middorsal and midventral subdistal papillae absent; verrucae absent proximally. Ventral cirri of chaetiger 1 similar in length and form to antennae, dorsal cirri minute, papillae-like ( Figs 10 View FIGURE 10 C, 11C– D); subsequent ventral cirri short, ovoid, dorsal cirri larger than those of chaetiger 1, subspherical ( Figs 10 View FIGURE 10 C, 11A, 11G–I). Acicular lobes conical, pre- and postchaetal lobes rudimentary ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 G–H). Aciculae tips curved. Five types of chaetae: thick, dentate chaetae present on first notopodia only ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 D); capillary chaetae present in noto- and neuropodia of first chaetiger only ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 D–E); barred chaetae in preacicular position of all following parapodia ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 F); spinose chaetae in postacicular position of all following parapodia ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 F), and lyrate chaetae with unequal rami in postacicular position ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 F) from chaetiger 4. Interramal cirri absent, ciliated patches present between parapodial rami, posteriorly continuous ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 H–I). Pygidium with short filiform cirrus, equal in length to last segment.

Remarks. Ravara et al. (2010b), redescribed M. stammeri from specimens collected from the type locality (Adriatic Sea) as the holotype has been lost ( Banse 1959). They also synonymised M. maryae San Martin, 1982 , with M. stammeri , and assigned Rainer & Kaly’s (1988) Australian specimens identified as M. maryae to M. stammeri , with doubts, due to Rainer & Kaly’s description of the Australian specimens having 14 longitudinal rows of subdistal pharyngeal papillae, instead of 20–22 rows which M. stammeri possesses. After examination of Rainer & Kaly’s specimens from Western Australia, it is impossible to confirm any pharyngeal features, as the three specimens are now badly damaged and the pharynx is missing from all. It is possible that the Western Australian specimens represent another species altogether, as Rainer & Kaly stated that the “proximal region” of the pharynx had “14 rows of subdistal papillae….up to 17 in each row”, a feature that is not consistent with M. stammeri , or with the Lizard Island specimens. The inclusion of M. cf. stammeri in the key to Australian Nephtyidae in Dixon- Bridges et al. (2014, p. 515) was based on Ravara’s synonymy of M. maryae with M. stammeri , and even though the specimens are no longer identifiable, the differences between M. stammeri and the description of Rainer & Kaly’s specimens alone should have discounted the presence of M. stammeri in Australia. However, the specimens from Lizard Island are consistent with the redescription of M. stammeri by Ravara et al. (2010b), except that they are larger, and lyrate chaetae are present from chaetiger 4 rather than 3, so we are tentatively assigning them to this species. As there is a valid uncertainty whether Rainer & Kaly’s specimens from Western Australia are M. stammeri , or may represent another species altogether, we report this species for the first time from Australia, at Lizard Island. With such a geographically disjunct distribution reported for Micronephthys stammeri , it may be, however, that it represents a suite of cryptic species, the identity of which may only be resolved by the use of genetic analysis of “populations” in conjunction with morphological data.

Habitat. In Lizard Island waters, from sand, sandy mud, and sediment associated with seagrass and algae, in intertidal and subtidal shallow water.

Distribution. Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Japan, Marshall Islands, Australia (Queensland: Lizard Island).

CSIRO

Australian National Fish Collection

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Annelida

Class

Polychaeta

Order

Phyllodocida

Family

Nephtyidae

Genus

Micronephthys

Loc

Micronephthys stammeri ( Augener, 1932 )

Murray, Anna, Wong, Eunice & Hutchings, Pat 2015
2015
Loc

Micronephthys stammeri

Dixon-Bridges 2014: 515
Rainer 1988: 696
San 1982: 428
Banse 1959: 302
Hartman 1950: 131
1950
Loc

Nephtys stammeri

Augener 1932: 678
1932
Loc

Nephtys inermis

Augener 1932: 663
1932
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