Haplosyllis chamaeleon ( Laubier, 1960 )

Lattig, Patricia & Martin, Daniel, 2009, A taxonomic revision of the genus Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1887 (Polychaeta: Syllidae: Syllinae), Zootaxa 2220, pp. 1-40 : 15-16

Haplosyllis chamaeleon ( Laubier, 1960)

( Fig. 9 A–C)

Haplosyllis depressa chameleon Laubier, 1960: 75 , figs 1–2.— Alós, 1989: 359, figs 71–72.— Baratech & San Martín, 1987: 45, figs 8–9.

Haplosyllis chamaeleon .— López et al. 1996: 108 –110, fig. 2.— Licher, 1999: 280; Martín et al. 2002: 461, 464–470, figs 5B–G, 6–10.— San Martín, 2003: 320 –323, fig. 177–178.

Type material. Haplosyllis depressa chamaeleon from Banyuls-sur-Mer (W Mediterranean), coll. Yves Bouligand. Probably lost.

Examined material. NW Mediterranean Sea. 4 specimens MNCN 16.01/7834, Cape of Creus, from Paramuricea clavata , coll. C. Alós. Atlantic Ocean. 3 specimens MNCN 16.01/11362, Ria de Arousa, Pontevedra, Spain, from Paramuricea grayii , 30 m. coll. Álvaro "Boris" Altuna.

Diagnosis. Dark-violet marks across the dorsum, persistent in preserved specimens. All dorsal cirri long, longest ones, twice as long as body width; midbody dorsal cirri alternating with short (13–20 articles) and long (26–32 articles). Three to five hooked chaetae per parapodia, anterior and midbody unidentate ( Fig. 9 A) or with very small, hair-like distal tooth ( Fig. 9 B), more hooked and clearly bidentate in posterior parapodia ( Fig. 9 C); LMF shorter than SW.

Host. Strict ectosymbiont of the gorgonians Paramuricea clavata (Risso, 1826) and P. g r a y i i (Johnson, 1861). Details on the association with P. c l a v a t a in Laubier (1960) and Martin et al. (2002).

Reproduction. H. chamaeleon reproduces by cephalous stolons (more details in Martin et al. 2002).

Distribution. W Mediterranean Sea and E Atlantic Ocean.

Remarks. Originally described as a subspecies of Haplosyllis depressa ( H. depressa chamaeleon ) from Banyuls-sur-Mer (NW Mediterranean); the species was erected as a new valid one by López et al. (1996) based on specimens living on the same host gorgonian from Chafarinas Islands, SW Meditterannean Spain ( 35º11'08"N 2º25'14"W).

The specimens found in the Atlantic coasts of the NE Iberian Peninsula extends the geographical range of H. chamaeleon , which can no longer be regarded as Mediterranean endemic species. Similarly, the species was considered as a typical example of monoxenous symbiotic association ( Martin & Britayev, 1998; Martin et al. 2002), but the Atlantic specimens were associated with a different host gorgonian, Paramuricea grayii . Therefore, this is the first record both for the presence of the species in the Atlantic and for its association with P. g r a y i i.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Haplosyllis chamaeleon. A—anterior chaeta; B—midbody chaetae; C—posterior chaetae. Scale bar 20 Μm.