Salvatoria kerguelensis McIntosh, 1885

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 : 51-52

Salvatoria kerguelensis McIntosh, 1885

Fig. 4A–G, 5A–F, 6A–F

Salvatoria kerguelensis McIntosh, 1885: 188 , pl. 30, fig. 4, pl.

33, fig. 1, pl. 25a, figs. 11, 12.

Sphaerosyllis macintoshi .–Ehlers, 1897: 46; 1913: 481; Benham, 1921: 26.

Syllides kerguelensis .–Monro, 1939: 114; Hartman, 1964: 91, pl.

28, fig. 8.

Grubea kerguelensis .–Augener, 1913: 252, text-fig. 37, pl. 3, fig.

23. Not Haswell, 1920a: 223, pl. 17, figs. 18–20.

Grubeosyllis kerguelensis .–Augener, 1927: 155.

Material examined.AUSTRALIA: WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 24 specimens, AM W26800, The Blow Holes, Point Quobba, 24°39'S 113°25'E, exposed rock platform, intertidal, brown algae clumps, 0.5 m, J.K. Lowry et al., 7 Jan 1984. 4 specimens, AM W26806, Bush Bay, 30 km south of Carnarvon, 25°10'S 113°39'E, lumps of algae on shallow sandflats, 0.5 m, H.E. Stoddart, 6 Jan 1984. 24 specimens, AM W26809, The Blow Holes, Point Quobba, 24°39'S 113°25'E, short green algae from rock platform edge, 0.5 m, J.K. Lowry et al., 7 Jan 1984. 3 specimens, AM W26810, Bush Bay, 30 km south of Carnarvon, 25°10'S 113°39'E, sand from seagrass beds on shallow sandflats, 0.5 m, H.E. Stoddart, 6 Jan 1984. 6 specimens, AM W27404, Ningaloo reef off Ned’s Camp, Cape Range National Park, 21°59.5'S 113°54.5'E, mixed algae, 2 m, J.K. Lowry, 1 Jan 1984. 16 specimens, AM W27411, 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. 4 specimens, AM W27414, north end of beach, Bundegi Reef, Exmouth Gulf, 21°49'S 114°11'E, rocky rubble, coralline algae with green epiphyte, 2 m, H.E. Stoddart, 4 Jan 1984. 1 specimen,AM W27417, inshore reef off Ned’s Camp, Cape Range National Park, 21°59'S 113°59'E, frilly Caulerpa sp. , 1 m, J.K. Lowry, 2 Jan 1984.

Description. Body small, complete mature female carrying eggs 2.24 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, for 30 chaetigers. Prostomium ovate to pentagonal, slightly wider than long, with 4 eyes in trapezoidal arrangement and sometimes 2 anterior eyespots; median antenna inserted between posterior pair of eyes, slightly longer than prostomium and palps together, lateral antennae similar to median antenna but shorter (Figs. 4A, 5B), inserted in front of anterior pair of eyes. Palps dorsally joined by a membrane, with a distal notch, slightly ventrally folded, shorter or similar in length to prostomium. A distinct pair of ciliated nuchal organs between prostomium and peristomium (Figs. 4A, 5B,C). Peristomium similar in length to following segments; dorsal tentacular cirri shorter than lateral antennae, ventral tentacular cirri similar to dorsal ones, but shorter. Dorsal cirri on all parapodia; dorsal cirri of chaetiger 1 long, similar in length to chaetiger 1 width, dorsal cirri of chaetiger 2 and 3 distinctly shorter than dorsal cirri of chaetiger 1, those of chaetiger 3 slightly longer than those of chaetiger 2, dorsal cirri of chaetiger 4 similar in length to those of chaetiger 1, remaining dorsal cirri short and long arranged alternately; long cirri slightly shorter than width of corresponding segment (Fig. 4A, 5A,B). Compound chaetae similar throughout; anterior parapodia each with 8–9 compound chaetae, posterior parapodia each with 7; blades indistinctly bidentate, distally hooked, subdistal tooth small on longer blades (Fig. 5E), minute to absent on shorter blades, provided with short marginal spines (Fig. 5F), longer spines on longer blades (Figs. 4B,E, 5E,F), dorsoventral gradation in length of blades, about 11–12 µm above, 6–7 µm below in midbody. Dorsal simple chaetae from midbody, slender, indistinctly bidentate, with small subdistal tooth and short marginal spines (Fig. 4D). Ventral simple chaetae on far posterior chaetigers, sigmoid, indistinctly bidentate, margin smooth (Fig. 4F). Acicula solitary, slender, acuminate (Fig. 4C), slightly thicker posteriorly (Fig. 4G). Pharynx wide, without papillae, through about 4 segments; pharyngeal tooth rhomboidal, located slightly posteriorly from opening. Proventricle similar in length and width to pharynx (Fig. 4A), through 4 segments, with about 18–20 muscle cell rows. Pygidium small, with 2 anal cirri, similar to dorsal cirri but slightly longer.

Remarks. The holotype of the species is a damaged specimen masked by a dense cover of small crystals, difficult to examine, because it is opaque with some cirri lost (Fig. 6A) and many chaetae broken. It is longer than the above described specimens, about 4.3 mm long, 0.42 mm wide, 33 chaetigers. Compound chaetae similar to the additional material examined (Fig. 6B), but longer (blades 45 µm above, 10 µm below in midbody). Two aciculae present in more anterior parapodia, one distally rounded and the other acuminate (Fig. 6C), solitary acuminate acicula in midbody and posterior parapodia (Fig. 6D). Dorsal simple chaetae similar to those of Australian specimens (Fig. 6E), ventral simple chaetae unidentate and smooth (Fig. 6F), only on last chaetiger. Pharyngeal tooth present, apparently near the opening (Fig. 6A), but the exact position is not possible to elucidate because the opacity of the specimen.

The Australian specimens are much smaller than the holotype of the species, and the blades of the compound chaetae are much shorter; so the identification of these Australian specimens as Salvatoria kerguelensis is tentative. The compound chaetae are, however, similar and the differences in the location of the pharyngeal tooth could be the result of the poor condition of the holotype.

The record of this species from Port Jackson (Haswell, 1920a) is referred to Salvatoria longisetosa .

Distribution. Subantarctic seas: Kerguelen Islands, South Georgia. New Zealand. Australia (Western Australia).

Habitat. Volcanic mud, coralline algae, in sponges, seagrass beds, amongst algae.