Neosabellides lizae Alvestad & Budaeva, 2015, n. sp.
Creators: name: Alvestad, Tom
name: Budaeva, Nataliya
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Annelida
Polychaeta
Terebellida
Ampharetidae
Neosabellides
Neosabellides lizae

description: Neosabellides lizae n. sp.
Type material. Holotype: AM W.44032, MI QLD 2340 (wet specimen). Paratypes: AM W.44850, MI QLD 2422 (1, 1 on SEM stub); AM W.45179, MI QLD 2440 (2, 1 on SEM stub); AM W.45137, MI QLD 2441 (1).
Other material examined. AM W.45178, MI QLD 2440 (1 used for DNA extraction); AM W.45180, MI QLD 2441 (1 used for DNA extraction).
Comparative material examined. Paratypes of Neosabellides australiensis Hartmann-Schröder, 1981, ZMH P- 16499 (5), Western Australia, Cervantes, beach, Posidoina and fine sand, 24 Oct 1975.
Diagnosis. Prostomium conical with transversal groove, without glandular ridges; three pairs of branchiae in two groups well separated from each other; paleae absent; buccal tentacles covered with ciliae, papillae absent; 14 thoracic segments with notopodia; 12 thoracic segments with neuropodia; 14 abdominal segments with neuropodia, first two pairs of abdominal neuropodia of thoracic type.
Description. Holotype complete specimen 5 mm long and 0.6 mm wide; paratypes ranging from 3 to 5 mm long and about 0.5 mm wide. Live specimens silver grey with metallic hue, branchiae with dark bands (Fig. 1 A, B). Preserved specimens uniformly pale yellow. Specimens dyed with methyl blue with dark blue ventral shields (Fig. 1 E); anterior part of prostomium blue with unstained oval area behind it (Fig. 1 C, D).
Prostomium conical with transversal groove curved laterally, but not completely splitting its frontal margin (Figs 1 A–D, 2A); glandular ridges absent. Live specimens with two dark spots, presumably eyes (Figs 1 A,B, 2A). Ventral surface of buccal segment with longitudinal folds (Fig. 1 C). Buccal tentacles long, covered with cilia, without papillae (Figs 2 A, 3D, E). Branchiae in two groups, well separated and connected by low membrane; two outermost branchiae in each group in transversal row, innermost branchia located slightly posteriorly and distinctly connected with first pair of notopodia (Figs 1 B, 2A, 3D). Several ciliated tufts between groups of branchiae (Fig. 3 D). One pair of nephridial papillae on segment IV, located behind innermost pair of branchiae (Figs 2 A, 3D). Paleae absent (Figs 2 A, 3C, D).
Thorax and abdomen of similar length; thorax slightly wider than abdomen; abdomen tapering posteriorly (Figs 1 A, B; 3A, B). Fourteen thoracic segments with notopodia and capillary chaetae. Last 12 chaetigers of thorax with neuropodia and uncini. Fourteen abdominal uncinigerous segments (Fig. 3 B).
Notopodia simple, finger-shaped and up to three times longer than wide (Fig. 4 A, B). Thoracic neuropodia rounded to oval (Figs 3 C, 4B, C). Anterior two abdominal segments with neuropodia of thoracic type with uncini located in a furrow (Fig. 4 F); remaining abdominal uncinigers with enlarged protruding neuropodia with uncini located at parapodial margin (Fig. 5 A, D). Dorsal cirri on abdominal neuropodia absent. Ciliated tufts between parapodial rami; in thorax at ventral bases of notopodia (Fig. 4 B, D), in abdomen above neuropodia (Figs 4 F, 5A, B, D)
Notochaetae as spinulose capillaries (Fig. 4 A, B), arranged in double rows; capillaries in anterior row generally thinner and shorter than in posterior row. Thoracic uncini with two vertical rows of 4–5 teeth above rostrum (Fig. 4 C). Abdominal uncini with four vertical rows of 3–4 teeth above rostrum (Fig. 5 C).
Pygidium with two short lateral cirri; papillae or crenulated area around anus absent (Fig. 3 F). Tube unknown.
Remarks. Neosabellides lizae n. sp. closely resembles N. australiensis, but can be distinguished by having a pair of eyes on the prostomium, having 14 rather that 16 abdominal uncinigerous segments and being half the size. Branchiae in the two species arranged in slightly different ways, in N. lizae n. sp. the outermost and middle branchiae in each group lie in a transversal row with innermost branchia slightly posteriorly; in N. australiensis the middle branchia in each group located slightly anteriorly to other two (Fig. 2). In addition, we did not find tubes or tube fragments while collecting the new species, which suggests that they may be very fragile. On the contrary, Hartmann-Schröder (1981) reported N. australiensis having sturdy parchment-like tubes covered with Posidonia leaves and other debris, which we also observed in the studied paratypes. The new species differs from all other known species of Neosabellides in having 14 rather than 12 or 19–20 abdominal uncinigerous segments. It can also be distinguished from N. litoralis Annenkova, 1934 in having three rather than four pairs of branchiae; from N. elongatus (Ehlers, 1912) and N. oceanica (Fauvel, 1909) in lacking papillae on the buccal tentacles (Tab. 1).
Species
Characters N. australiensis N. elongatus N. litoralis N. oceanica N. lizae n. sp.
Hartmann-Schröder, (Ehlers, 1912) Annenkova, (Fauvel, 1909)
1981 1934
Length 8.1 mm 22 mm 3–5 mm 10 mm 3–5 mm ......continued on next page Species *Following the description by Hessle (1917) N. elongatus has small dorsal cirri on the last 17 abdominal neuropodia.
The smallest three specimens examined (3 mm long) had only 13 thoracic segments with notopodia and 13 abdominal uncinigerous segments (Fig. 3 A, C). In these specimens capillary chaetae and notopodia were absent in 14th parapodia (Fig. 4 F), while in larger specimens 14th parapodia bore both noto- and neuropodia (Fig. 4 E). We suggest that these specimens were juveniles lacking the definitive set of segments characteristic for all species from the genus Neosabellides. All specimens longer than 3 mm showed the presence of 14 thoracic and 14 abdominal segments.
Etymology. The species epithet lizae refers both to the Lizard Island, the place where the specimens of the new species were collected, and to the name of authors’ daughter Liza.
Type locality. Australia, Queensland, Lizard Island, off Casuarina Beach, in front of the Lizard Island Research Station, 14°40'46"S, 145°26'49"E, intertidal.
Distribution. This species is only known from the Lizard Island, the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia; intertidal zone.
description: Published as part of Alvestad, Tom & Budaeva, Nataliya, 2015, Neosabellides lizae, a new species of Ampharetidae (Annelida) from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, pp. 61-69 in Zootaxa 4019 (1) on pages 62-65, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4019.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/289489