Sphaerosyllis capensis Day, 1953

Guillermo San Martin, 2005, Exogoninae (Polychaeta: Syllidae) from Australia With the Description of a New Genus and Twenty-two New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 57, pp. 39-152 : 94-95

Sphaerosyllis capensis Day, 1953

Figs. 49C–F , 50A–I

Sphaerosyllis hystrix var. capensis Day, 1953: 420 , fig. g–l.

Sphaerosyllis capensis .–Day, 1967: 276, fig. 12.II.g–j; Hartmann-Schröder, 1974a: 133, pl. 12, figs. 111–115.

Sphaerosyllis cuticulata Hartmann-Schröder, 1991 (in part): 41.

Material examined. AUSTRALIA:. WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 2 specimens, AM W26798, Goss Passage, Beacon Island, 28°25.5'S 113°47.0'E, dead plates of Acropora , covered in coralline algae, 8 m, P.A. Hutchings, 19 May 1994. 1 specimen, AM W27657, Red Bluff, Kalbarri, 27°42'S 114°09'E, mixed coralline algae from rocky shore, 4 m, J.K. Lowry, 10 Jan 1984. 1 specimen, and 2 specimens on SEM stub, AM W27658, limestone reef, off Ned’s camp, Cape Range National Park, 21°59'S 113°55'E, sponge with epiphytic algae, and muddy worm tubes, 1.5 m, R.T. Springthorpe, 2 Jan 1984.

Additional material. 11 paratypes of Sphaerosyllis cuticulata, HZM P-20560, Heron Island , G. Hartmann-Schröder .

Description. Body small, short, 1.7 mm long, 0.14 mm wide, 18 chaetigers, dorsum sparsely covered with small papillae, extending to palps and parapodia ( Figs. 49C,D , 50A,B). Prostomium rectangular, mostly covered by peristomium ( Fig. 49C , 50A); 4 eyes in trapezoidal arrangement. Antennae similar in length to prostomium or slightly longer, all similar, with bulbous bases and moderate tips, inserted on anterior margin of prostomium, just in front of anterior eyes ( Figs. 49C , 50A). Tentacular cirri similar to antennae but shorter. Dorsal cirri short, similar to tentacular cirri (Fig. 50A), slightly elongate from midbody ( Figs. 49D , 50B). Parapodial glands from chaetiger 4, large, distinct, with fibrillar material (Fig. 50A), provided each with a distinct large dorsal papilla longer than all other papillae (Fig. 50A,B), opening by a pore ( Fig. 49D ). Anterior parapodia each with about 7–8 compound chaetae, blades unidentate, provided with moderately long marginal spines, longer on dorsal chaetae (Fig. 50E), with a subdistal spine longer than others ( Fig. 49E ), and marked dorsoventral gradation in length, about 23 µm above, 13 µm below. Progressively posteriorly number of compound chaetae on each parapodium decreasing to 5–6, with larger shafts and shorter blades, about 15–13 µm long, slightly hooked, smooth or provided with short marginal spines ( Figs. 49F , 50G). Dorsal simple chaetae from chaetiger 1, unidentate, provided with moderately long marginal spines (Fig. 50C,F). Ventral simple chaetae on posterior parapodia, sigmoid, unidentate, smooth (Fig. 50H). Acicula solitary, with tips bent at right angle (Fig. 50D,I). Pygidium small, provided with few papillae and 2 anal cirri, similar in shape to dorsal cirri but longer. Pharynx slender, through 3 segments; pharyngeal tooth anteriorly located. Proventricle small, through 2 segments, with 14 muscle cell rows.

Remarks. Sphaerosyllis hystrix from European coasts is similar, but the median antenna is inserted more posteriorly and the compound chaetae of anterior parapodia have longer blades with more marked dorsoventral gradation in length (San Martín, 1984a, 2003). Sphaerosyllis taylori Perkins, 1981 , from the Atlantic coasts of North America, Caribbean Sea, Canary Islands, and the Mediterranean, also has a less marked gradation in length of blades, parapodial glands with fibrillar material, but the median antenna is inserted more posteriorly than in S. capensis and the blades are shorter (Perkins, 1981; San Martín, 1984a, 2003). The paratypes of S. cuticulata agrees with the above described specimens, except for the antennae, which are slightly longer, but I consider them as belonging to the same species.

Distribution. South Africa, Angola and Mozambique. Red Sea. Australia (Western Australia, Queensland).

Habitat. In muddy sand, coralline algae, and dead coral, in shallow waters.

Figures

Fig. 49. SEM of Sphaerosyllis densopapillata. (A) dorsal view, mature male with natatory chaetae. (B) anterior end, dorsal view. SEM of Sphaerosyllis capensis. (C) anterior end, dorsal view. (D) midbody parapodia. (E) anterior compound chaetae. (F) chaetal bundle.