Iphione peronea (Schmarda, 1861) n. comb., indeterminable

Polynoe peronea Schmarda, 1861: 157, Textfigs 315, 316, Pl. 36, Figs 315, 315a; Chamberlin 1919: 40 (syn.).

? Iphione spinosa: Michaelsen 1892: 95 (record from Sri-Lanka).

? Iphione muricata: Willey 1905: 246–248, Pl. 1, Fig. 6; Augener 1926: 442 (partim) (non Savigny in Lamarck, 1818) record from Sri Lanka.

Remarks. Iphione peronea (Schmarda, 1861) was described from Sri Lanka, having elytra without oblique blackish lines. Schmarda also noted a long median antenna, that elytral margins were fimbriate, and illustrated neurochaetae as subdistally swollen with unidentate, slightly falcate tips. Other features were not clarified, so it could not be incorporated in the key above. Willey (1905: 247) attributed his specimen to I. imbricata, found in his specimens that elytra were fimbriate, and he indicated they were smooth in I. peronea, but this is not the case. Chamberlin (1919: 40) indicated I. peronea was ‘the same as Iphione muricata .’

The original Sri-Lankan specimens are not in Vienna, they are presumed lost (F. Pedro, e-mail, 21 Feb. 2023). Because of the confusing original description, the fact that some records regarded it as a junior synonym of I. spinosa that has smooth elytral margins (Michaelsen 1892), or of I. muricata that has fimbriate margins (Willey 1905, Augener 1926), and the lack of type material, Polynoe peronea is herein regarded as belonging in Iphione, hence the new combination, but its status is indeterminable. Two additional species have been recorded from Sri Lanka whose identity is poorly understood: I. spinosa (Michaelsen, 1892) and I. muricata (Willey, 1905) . Whether these represent the same species as Schmarda’s is unknown.

Distribution. Originally described from Sri Lanka