Biodiversity Data Journal :
Taxonomic Paper
|
Corresponding author: Beatriz Yáñez-Rivera (beyariv@ciad.mx), María Ana Tovar-Hernández (maria_ana_tovar@yahoo.com)
Academic editor: Sarah Faulwetter
Received: 13 Aug 2020 | Accepted: 04 Sep 2020 | Published: 16 Sep 2020
© 2020 Beatriz Yáñez-Rivera, María Ana Tovar-Hernández, Cristian Galván-Villa, Eduardo Ríos-Jara
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Yáñez-Rivera B, Tovar-Hernández MA, Galván-Villa CM, Ríos-Jara E (2020) Tubicolous polychaete worms (Annelida) from Bahía de Chamela Islands Sanctuary, Mexico, with the description of a new bamboo worm. Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e57572. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e57572
|
The islands and islets of Bahía de Chamela, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, were declared as the first marine sanctuary in Mexico and has been protected since 2002. Their marine biodiversity has been documented in a series of papers in the last decade, but only three species of polychaete worms have been reported.
Sixteen species of sedentary polychaete worms belonging to the families Maldanidae, Oweniidae, Sabellariidae, Sabellidae and Serpulidae are reported to the Bahía de Chamela Islands Sanctuary, 15 of these species constituting the first records in the area. Isocirrus tropicus (Monro, 1928) (
Polychaeta, Sedentaria, Clymenura, Western Mexico, Tropical Eastern Pacific.
The islands and islets of Bahía de Chamela, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, were declared as the first marine sanctuary in Mexico and has been protected since 2002 (
The marine biodiversity of Bahía de Chamela has been documented in a series of papers in the last decade: macroinvertebrates (
Polychaetes are segmented worms belonging to the phylum Annelida. They are predominantly marine with some species in fresh and terrestrial groundwaters (
The material reported in this paper was collected between April 2009 and June 2013 in Bahía de Chamela, Jalisco, Mexico (Fig.
Observations and body measurements were undertaken with a Leica MZ75 stereomicroscope or an Olympus CH30 high power microscope. Photographs were taken with an attached Canon EOS Rebel T7i digital camera. Methyl green and Shirlastain-A were used for improving the contrast of surface features and analysis of the main morphological features.
The new species description is based on the holotype, with variation of paratypes as indicated in parenthesis. Except for the new species here described, descriptions are presented in a broad sense in order that any interested people can follow the identification keys with accuracy. In the nomenclature and taxon discussion sections, systematic contributions are included for those people who require a deeper analysis.
The following taxonomic keys were used: Maldanidae (
Occurrence record of tubicolous worms (Annelida, Polychaeta) in Chamela islands.
Infraclass |
Family |
Genus |
Species |
Taxonomic author |
Voucher |
Site 7 |
Site 14 |
Site 15 |
Site 16 |
Scolecida |
Maldanidae |
Clymenura |
Clymenura scutata |
Tovar-Hernández and Yáñez-Rivera, 2020 |
LEMA-PO153, UANL 8144, ICML-EMU 12758 |
1 |
1 |
||
Scolecida |
Maldanidae |
Isocirrus |
Isocirrus tropicus |
( |
LEMA-PO154 |
1 |
|||
Incerta sedis |
Oweniidae |
Owenia |
Owenia collaris |
|
LEMA-PO155 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellariidae |
Idanthyrsus |
Idanthyrsus cretus |
|
LEMA-PO156, PO157 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellariidae |
Idanthyrsus |
Idanthyrsus mexicanus |
|
LEMA-PO158 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellariidae |
Idanthyrsus |
Idanthyrsus sp. |
|
LEMA-PO159 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Acromegalomma |
Acromegalomma circumspectum |
( |
LEMA-PO160, PO161 |
1 |
1 |
||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Bispira |
Bispira monroi |
( |
LEMA-PO162 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Chone |
Chone mollis |
( |
LEMA-PO163, PO164 |
1 |
1 |
||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Notaulax |
Notaulax californica |
( |
LEMA-PO165, PO166 |
1 |
1 |
||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Parasabella |
Parasabella pallida |
|
LEMA-PO167 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Sabellidae |
Pseudobranchiomma |
Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica |
|
LEMA-PO168 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Serpulidae |
Hydroides |
Hydroides brachyacantha |
|
LEMA-PO169, PO170, PO171 |
1 |
1 |
||
Canalipalpata |
Serpulidae |
Salmacina |
Salmacina tribranchiata |
( |
LEMA-PO172 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Serpulidae |
Spirobranchus |
Spirobranchus minutus |
|
LEMA-PO173 |
1 |
|||
Canalipalpata |
Serpulidae |
Spirobranchus |
Spirobranchus cf. gaymardi |
( |
LEMA-PO174 |
1 |
Samples were deposited in the following collections: Colección Biológica del Laboratorio de Ecosistemas Marinos y Acuicultura, Universidad de Guadalajara, México (LEMA), Colección Poliquetológica from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México (UANL) and Colección Regional de Invertebrados Marinos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ICML–EMU).
Preserved holotype complete, with body pale without any distinctive pigmentation pattern (Fig.
Clymenura scutata sp. n. A) Entire worm, lateral view, tube removed, B–C) cephalic plaque, latero-dorsal views, D–E) posterior end and anal plaque, lateral and ventral view, respectively, F) anal plaque, posterior view, G) worm regenerating cephalic plaque and first anterior segments. A–D, F) Holotype LEMA-PO153, E, G) Paratype UANL 8144. Scale bars: A) 2 mm, B–E, G) 1 mm, F) 0.6 mm.
Clymenura scutata sp. n. A) Worm with cephalic plaque and first three chaetigers under regeneration, B) glandular shield in chaetiger 8, C) manubriavicular uncini from 1st chaetiger, D) manubriavicular uncinus from 11 chaetiger, E) notochaetae from 11 chaetiger, F) third chaetiger, G) last chaetiger. A, G) Paratype UANL 8144, B–F) Holotype LEMA-PO153. Scale bars: A–B) 1 mm, C–E) 1000X magnification, F-G) 0.5 mm.
Isocirrus tropicus (Monro, 1928). A) Body, anterior part, lateral view, B) cephalic plaque and first two chaetigers, lateral view, C) everted proboscis, D) anal funnel, lateral view, E) dorsal margin of cephalic plaque, F) manubriavicular uncini from 5th chaetiger, G) anal plaque, posterior view, H) mid-ventral whitish ridge starting in chaetiger 7. Scale bars: A) 3 mm, B) 2 mm, C) 1 mm, D) 1.3 mm, E) 1.8 mm, F) 400x magnification, G) 0.5 mm, H) 1.5 mm. Arrows in A pointed to lateral notches of cephalic plaque. In B, arrows pointed to crenulated margin of cephalic plaque.
A worm of 32 mm length, 1 mm width, with 14 chaetigers, two pre-anal achaetous segments with tori, manubriavicular uncini present from chaetiger 1 with 3–4 teeth above the main fang without barbules; manubriavicular uncini similar to that of chaetiger 1, but the number of barbules increases towards the most posterior segments. Cephalic plaque oval with entire, smooth margins; rounded palpode; nuchal organs straight, parallel, almost full length of plaque. No ocelli, no segmental collars. Anal funnel present with 28 distinct alternating triangular cirri: short and long (twice longer than short ones) and with the mid-ventral cirrus longest (about twice the length of the adjacent long). Chaetiger 8 glandular shield extending anteriorly and ventrally from notochaetal fascicle forming a half-oval.
From the Latin scutata, meaning armed with a shield and referring to the glandular shield on chaetiger 8.
The specimens, here reviewed, match with the emendation of Clymenura provided by
Amongst the nine valid taxa of Clymenura worldwide, two species have been described from America: C. cirrata (Ehlers, 1887 as Clymene) (
Species |
Prostomial eyes |
Cephalic plate |
Dentition of uncini in first thoracic chaetiger |
Pre-anal achaetous segments |
Cirri of anal plaque |
Distribution (Marine Provinces according to |
C. cirrata (Ehlers, 1887) |
? Not described by Ehlers (1887) * |
Notched laterally |
Marked * |
1 |
four long cirri |
Tropical North-western Atlantic |
C. columbiana (Berkeley, 1929) |
Present |
Notched lateral and dorsally |
Reduced |
3 |
20 short cirri and a long mid-ventral cirrus |
Cold Temperate Northeast Pacific |
C. snaiko Read, 2011 |
Absent |
Notched laterally |
Marked |
2 |
16 short cirri and mid-ventral cirri longest |
Southern New Zealand |
C. scutata sp. nov. |
Absent |
Entire |
Marked |
2 |
28 alternating short and long cirri and a long mid-ventral cirrus |
Tropical East Pacific |
Clymenura cirrata is characterised by the presence of four long anal cirri (only the mid-ventral is long in Clymenura scutata sp. n.); the lateral margins or the cephalic plaque are notched (entire in Clymenura scutata sp. n.); and collars are present in chaetigers 2–4 (absent in Clymenura scutata sp. n.).
The rest of the species in the genus were described from high north European latitudes and the Northern Pacific region: Novaya Zemlya (one species), Japan (three species), Norway (one species), the Laptev Sea (one species), except for Clymenura snaiko Read, 2011 (
Referring to intraspecific variation, a paratype was found under regeneration of the anterior end of the body (Fig.
Owenia fusiformis collaris in
Owenia collaris
Entire worms with 14–18 segments, 12–14 mm length, 0.4–0.7 mm width, tentacular crown 0.4–0.7 mm length. Prostomium with a short tentacular crown consisting of 8–12 basal branched trunks (Fig.
Owenia collaris Hartman, 1955. A) Worm partially inside its tube, B) anterior region and tentacular crown, ventral view, C) tentacular crown, lateral view, D-E) internal details of tentacular crown and pigmentation, F) neuropodial uncini, G) entire worm, removed tube. Scale bars: A) 2 mm, B–E, G) 0.5 mm, F) 1000x magnification.
Puerto Peñasco, Sonora (
Described with ocular spots (
Clymene tropica Monro, 1906 in
Isocirrus tropicus.—
Euclymene tropica.—
Incomplete worms 6–36 mm long, 0.5–1.4 mm wide and +12 segments. Cephalic plaque oval with lateral margins notched (Fig.
Originally described from Taboga (Pacific coast of Panama) to 7–9 m depth in sand at low tide (
Idanthyrsus cretus Chamberlin, 1919
Idanthyrsus pennatus (not
Idanthyrsus cretus.—
Gregarious worms commonly known as “honey comb worms”. Tubes constructed with sea shells fragments, echinoderm spines debris, sand and small gravel. Complete specimens 13–29 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, with 22–31 abdominal chaetigers and a caudal peduncle 3–5 mm long. Body divided into four specialised regions: operculum, parathorax (with three segments), abdomen and caudal region (Fig.
Idanthyrsus cretus Chamberlin, 1919. A) Entire worm, dorsal view, B) same, ventral view, C) abdominal uncinus dentition, lateral view, D) abdominal uncini, E) operculum and parathorax, F) nuchal hook, G) outer opercular paleae, H) inner opercular paleae. Scale bars: A) 2 mm, B, E) 4 mm, C) 1000x magnification, D, G–H) 400x magnification, F) 0.25 mm.
Idanthyrsus cretus is a widely-reported species from Isla Cedros (Baja California, Mexico) to Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands (
Detailed description and illustrations are available in
Idanthyrsus mexicanus in
Gregarious worms commonly known as “honey comb worms”. Tubes constructed with sea shells fragments, echinoderm spines debris, sand and small gravel (as well as I. cretus). Complete specimens 8–11.1 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, with 27–30 abdominal chaetigers and a caudal peduncle 2–3 mm long. Body divided into four specialised regions: operculum, parathorax (with three segments), abdomen and caudal region (Fig.
Idanthyrsus mexicanus Kirtley, 1994. A) Entire body, dorso-lateral view, B) operculum, dorsal view, C) nuchal hook, D) abdominal uncini, lateral view, E) base of outer opercular palea, F) mid-region of a outer opercular paleae, G) near distal end of outer opercular palea, H–J) inner opercular paleae. Scale bars: A) 3 mm, B) 1.5 mm, C, J) 400x magnification, D–I) 1000x magnification.
This constitutes the fist record since its establishment by
This species was described from Bahía Tenacatita, west of the islets off Barra de Navidad, between 45.7 and 64 m depth. A second species from Western Mexico is Idanthyrsus armatopsis Fauchald, 1972
Idanthyrsus sp. considered as new to science by
Gregarious worms commonly known as “honey comb worms” (as well as I. cretus and I. mexicanus). Tubes constructed with sea shells fragments (Fig.
Idanthyrsus sp. A) Worm inside its tube, B) entire body, C) operculum, D) abdominal uncinus, E) nuchal hook, F) outer opercular paleae, G) radiolar tip of outer opercular palea, H) inner opercular palea. Scale bars: A, C) 2 mm, B) 3 mm, D, G–H) 1000x magnification, E–F) 400x magnification.
Found in colony mixed with Idanthyrsus cretus.
Branchiomma circumspectum Moore, 1923 in
Megalomma circumspectum.—
Acromegalomma circumspectum.—
Complete specimens 10–19 mm long, 0.8–1.3 mm wide with 8 thoracic chaetigers and 42–61 abdominal chaetigers. Radiolar crown with 13–16 pairs of radioles. Radioles with subdistal eyes in most radioles, spherical. Those from dorsal-most radioles are the largest (Fig.
Acromegalomma circumspectum (Moore, 1923). A) Radiolar crown, dorsal view, B) compound radiolar eyes, C1) eye from dorsal-most radiole showing their ommatidia, C2) ocular spot from ventral-most radiole, D) thorax and anterior abdomen anterior, ventral view (crown removed), E) thorax, dorsal view (crown removed). Scale bars: A, D–E) 4 mm, B) 0.5 mm, C1–C2) 0.3 mm.
Widely reported in the Gulf of California and Nayarit (
Distylidia monroi Hartman, 1961 in
Bispira rugosa monterea.—
Bispira monroi.—
Bispira rugosa (no Moore).—
Body 13–34 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, radiolar crown 6–17 mm long with 13–29 pairs of radioles, thorax with 13 chaetigers and abdomen with 46–82 chaetigers. Gregarious species (Fig.
This is the only fan worm that has been included in the invertebrate guides from the Gulf of California (
Metachone mollis in
Chone mollis.—
Body 15 mm long, 1.4 mm wide, radiolar crown 3.2 mm long with 12 pairs of radioles, thorax with eight chaetigers and abdomen with 30 chaetigers. Solitary fan worm from soft bottoms. Branchial crown cone-shaped when it is open. Radioles united by a long palmate membrane that occupies 3/4 of their length (Fig.
One specimen was found regenerating a radiolar crown. This species has been reported in the Pacific coast of Panama and some localities from Mexican Pacific (
Potamilla californica
Hypsicomus sp.—
Hypsicomus californicus.—
Notaulax californica.—
Solitary fan worm associated with dead coral and rocks. Body length 11–14 mm, width 0.9–1.1 mm. Radiolar crown length 3–3.4 mm with 8–10 pairs of radioles. Thorax with eight chaetigers and abdomen with 60–67 chaetigers. Radioles with short bands of radiolar ocelli (Fig.
Notaulax californica (Treadwell, 1906) and Parasabella pallida Moore, 1923. Notaulax californica: A) crown and thorax, dorsal view, B) same, ventral view, C) radiolar ocelli. Parasabella pallida: D) crown, thorax and anterior abdomen, E–F) radiolar maculae. Scale bars: A–B, D) 2 mm, C, E–F) 0.3 mm.
This is the first formal record in Mexico.
Parasabella pallida in
Sabella media.–
Demonax medius.–
Demonax pallidus.–
Solitary fan worm with soft tubes, composed of fine sand and covered by algae and bryozoans. Body length 14–26 mm, 1.5–2.3 mm width. Radiolar crown length 6–10 mm with 12–14 pairs of radioles. Thorax with eight chaetigers and abdomen with 63–67 chaetigers. Radioles with brownish maculae (no eyes or ocelli) along radiolar length (Fig.
Members of Parasabella seem like Acromegalomma at first view, but the latter have subdistal compound eyes in radioles (absent in Parasabella). Common in fouling from the Gulf of California (
Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica in
Gregarious fan worms. Soft, thin and flexible tubes composed of fine sand. Body length 12–18 mm, 1 mm width. Radiolar crown 9–12 mm long with 8 pairs of radioles. Thorax with eight chaetigers and abdomen with 59–62 chaetigers. Base of branchial crown purple (Fig.
Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica Tovar-Hernández and Dean, 2014 and Hydroides brachyacantha Rioja, 1941a. Pseudobranchiomma schizogenica: A) radiolar crown and thorax, A1) paired radiolar eyes, A2) radiolar flanges, B) interramal eyes, C) radiole with flanges. Hydroides brachyacantha: D–H) opercula, different angle views. Scale bars: A–B) 3 mm, C, F–H) 0.3 mm, D–E) 0.5 mm.
At first view, Pseudobranchiomma can be confused with Branchiomma because both are commonly gregarious, their bodies are full of purple maculae and both have interramal eyes and radioles with paired eyes. However, Branchiomma has long stylodes as tongue or straps-like filaments along radioles, easily seen under a stereoscope. In the Southern Gulf of California, it has been reported associated with man-made substrates in densities reaching 487 ind/m2, associated often with the invasive sabellid Branchiomma bairdi (
Hydroides brachyacantha in
Hydroides brachyacanthus.–
Body 8–10 mm long, 0.8–1 mm wide. Radiolar crown length 1.5–1.7 mm with 8–10 pairs of radioles. Thorax with seven chaetigers and abdomen with 61–64 segments. Verticil with 8-12 yellow to dark brown spines unequal in size (Fig.
Hydroides brachyacantha Rioja, 1941 (
Filograna tribranchiata in
Salmacina dysteri tribranchiata.—
Salmacina dysteri (not
Salmacina tribranchiata.—
Gregarious worm with tubes white, thin, with transversal ridges, lacking longitudinal ridges, peristomes or alveoli (D). Radiolar crown with 3–4 pairs of radioles (Fig.
Salmacina tribranchiata (Moore, 1923) and Spirobranchus minutus Rioja, 1941b. Salmacina tribranchiata: A) Entire body, tube removed, B) radiolar crown and thorax, C) abdomen and pygidium, D) tubes. Spirobranchus minutus: E) radiolar crown and operculum, F) opercular peduncle and operculum. Scale bars: A–C) 0.2 mm, D) 2 mm, E) 1 mm, F) 0.5 mm.
Widely reported in the Mexican Pacific (
Pomatoceros minutus in
Spirobranchus minutus.—
Body 4.2 mm long, 0.5 mm wide. Thorax with seven chaetigers and abdomen +5 (incomplete specimen). Opercular peduncle with thin distal wings. Operculum hoof-shaped, calcareous, white and dark spots basally on each side and anterior dark (Fig.
Widely reported along the Mexican Pacific (
Cymospira gaymardi in
Spirobranchus gaymardi.—
Spirobranchus cf. gaymardi.—
Tube with a prominent longitudinal ridge and a robust spine extending over the tube mouth (Fig.
Widely distributed in Mexican Pacific (
It is notable that the most important inventories of some of the main marine taxonomic groups in the Bay have been carried out in the last 10 years, since 2009, so that the present study provides a first approach to the polychaete tubeworm worms of Bahía de Chamela, including a new record for Mexico and the establishment of a new taxon. Lack of knowledge of Annelida, as in other marine invertebrates, is common in most of the Mexican tropical Pacific. This knowledge is particularly important in marine-protected areas, since species records are a critical tool to generate a complete fauna list as a first step to understand distribution patterns, carry out subsequent monitoring of biodiversity and finally to assess the effectiveness of protected areas. However, this information should include accurate curatorial data from sampling technique, habitat, distribution notes along with preservation and proper storage in voucher collections. The present study provided all these data and could stimulate further research on the different groups of polychaete annelids in the Bay.
Amongst the families here reported, maldanids, also known as bamboo worms, are discretely mobile, deposit feeders, inhabiting usually soft sediments (
Oweniids, although mostly tubicolous, are considered discretely mobile because they can extend and move their tubes within sediment. These worms are primarily surface deposit feeders, but some species with tentacular crowns also suspension feed (
Sabellariids, also known as honeycomb, sand-castle or sand-mason worms, usually build their tubes either attached to hard substrata or to other sabellariid tubes, in some cases forming massive reefs, but some species are solitary (
Sabellids, known as feather-duster worms, fan worms or sea flowers, are sessile, tube builders. They inhabit tubes that they build with secreted mucus and attached mud or sand particles, except Glomerula that builds a calcareous tube (
Serpulidae includes worms known as Christmas tree worms. All serpulids secret calcareous tubes and they are sessile suspension feeders (
In the Mexican Pacific coast, several species of introduced polychaete worms of Sabellidae and Serpulidae have been reported, mainly associated with man-made substrates, such as dock pilings, boat hulls, buoys, ropes and aquaculture infrastructure (
This study was supported by the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y uso de la Biodiversidad grant (CONABIO Project JF023). Thanks are given to Irving Ramírez for their help in collecting and processing material. Sergio I. Salazar-Vallejo (ECOSUR, México) provided literature and advice for maldanids and Rolando Bastida-Zavala (UMAR, México) confirmed the identity of Spirobranchus minutus. We thank the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) for their great support to obtain literature. We thank Yueyung Wang (State Oceanic Administration, China) and Jesús Angel de León-González (UANL, México) for their valuable suggestions.
Neither mentioned in Verrill (1900, page 654-655) and Read (2011, page 44).
Ehlers (1887, page 23, plate 46, fig. 13) described and illustrated a thoracic uncini with four marked teeth, but there is no indication if it corresponds to the first segment. Later, Verrill (1900, page 654) described uncini from the first chaetiger with a marked dentition. Read (2011, pages 44) codified this feature as “n” (not reduced)