No abstract

In a survey of the polychaetes of the Lizard Island region, sixteen new species of terebellids, plus one previously described species, were found from material collected during the two week long Lizard Island Taxonomic Workshop in 2013, along with material collected from previous projects carried out at Lizard Island. This included the CReefs Project (http://www.aims.gov.au/creefs/field-program.html), of which Lizard was one of the nodes. Those species are distributed as follows: one species of each of the following genera Eupolymnia Verrill, 1900, Lanice Malmgren, 1866; Lanicides Hessle, 1917, Lanicola Hartmann-Schröder, 1986, Pistella Hartmann-Schröder, 1996, Reteterebella Hartman, 1963, and Terebella Linnaeus, 1767; two species of Nicolea Malmgren, 1866; three species of Pista Malmgren, 1866 and four of Loimia Malmgren, 1866, together with another new species, belonging to the new genus Lizardia n. gen. Keys for identification of these genera and species are provided, together with generic diagnoses and full descriptions for all species; for each new species, comparisons with the morphologically most similar congeners are provided. A redescription of Reteterebella queenslandia Hartman, 1963 is also included.

Whale falls are important environments contributing to biodiversity, connectivity and evolutionary novelty in deep-sea ecosystem. Notwithstanding, most of this knowledge is based in studies from NE Pacific basin. Interestingly, the only known natural whale fall on the SW Atlantic has faunal composition affinities with carcasses from other deepocean basins. In this carcass, annelid worms belonging to Hesionidae are abundant and species-rich, and include some shared species with NE Pacific Ocean. Here we evaluate the diversity of Hesionidae on the SW Atlantic using new information of implanted whale bones and explore whether some species have interbasin distribution or if they represent cryptic species in different basins. We described, using morphological and molecular data, a total of 10 new hesionid species and report of a new lineage Sirsoe 'BioSuOr,' not formally described herein. Two hesionids found exclusively in deep-sea chemosynthetic environments, Sirsoe Pleijel (1998) and Vrijenhoekia Pleijel et al. (2008), are primarily distinguished from each other by the presence of a median antenna on the former and its absence on the latter. However, our analyses showed that Vrijenhoekia should be synonymized with Sirsoe and for this reason we emended the diagnosis of Sirsoe. We also emphasized the presence of Sirsoe balaenophila comb. nov. and S. sirikos in SW Atlantic whale falls confirming their interbasin distribution. Moreover, COI and 16S rDNA data reveal that S. balaenophila comb. nov. also comprises cryptic species on the SW Atlantic (S. pirapuan sp. nov. and S. ypupiara sp. nov) and perhaps also in the Pacific Ocean (herein named as S. balaenophila lineage-2). The new species, S. maximiano, is shared between whale falls from SW Atlantic and vent sites from Mid-Cayman Spreading Center. Our data adds to the growing literature showing species are shared between deep ocean basins and among cognate deep-sea environments.

Four new species of Polycirrus were collected at the Campos Basin, state of Rio de Janeiro, during a survey coordinated by CENPES/PETROBRAS under the scope of the project, "Environmental Heterogeneity in the Campos Basin". These species are P. nonatoi sp. nov., P. papillosus sp. nov., P. breviuncinatus sp. nov., and P. habitats sp. nov. All these species are herein described and compared with the morphologically most similar congeners. In addition, a key is provided for the identification of the species of Polycirrus which have been originally described for the Brazilian coast.

Terebelliformia comprises a large group of sedentary polychaetes which live from the intertidal to the deep sea. The majority live in tubes and are selective deposit feeders. This study synthesises the current knowledge of this group, including their distribution, in the different biogeographic regions. We highlight the new methodologies being used to describe them and the resolution of species complexes occurring in the group. The main aim of this review is to highlight the knowledge gaps and to stimulate research in those directions, which will allow for knowledge of their distribution and abundances to be used by ecologists and managers.

Three new species of Loimia were collected along the Brazilian coast, during some independent projects, from shallow to deep waters off the continental slope. These species are L. megaoculata sp. nov., L. armata sp. nov., and L. brasiliensis sp. nov., all herein described and compared with the morphologically most similar congeners. Loimia megaoculata sp. nov., is characterized by having large, dark eyespots, progressively smaller from dorso-laterally towards lateral basal part of prostomium; lobes of segment 1 are distally rounded, roughly circular, barely reaching mid-length of upper lip; uncini have up to 6-7 teeth, including basal-most tooth. Loimia armata sp. nov., lacks eyespots; stout lobes of segment 1 nearly reach level of upper lip; uncini have up to 7-8 teeth, including basal-most tooth. Loimia brasiliensis sp. nov., has two narrow rows of eyespots; lobes of segment 1 are thin, reaching mid-length of upper lip; uncini have 5-6 teeth, including basal-most tooth. We provide a brief discussion on the main morphological characters useful for the taxonomy of this genus, such as presence of eyespots, and morphology of lobes of segments 1 and 3, of mid-ventral pads and neurochaetae. Up to now only two species had been recorded from Brazil, namely L. grubei and L. medusa, both doubtful records, as discussed along this paper.

In a survey of the polychaetes of the Lizard Island region, six species of polychaetes belonging to the families Telothelepodidae Nogueira, Fitzhugh & Hutchings, 2013, Thelepodidae Hessle, 1917 and Trichobranchidae Malmgren, 1866 were found, from material collected during the Lizard Island Polychaete Taxonomic Workshop, and material collected by previous projects undertaken by the Australian Museum. This material includes one new species of Rhinothelepus Hutchings, 1974 (Telothelepodidae); one new species of each of the genera, Euthelepus McIntosh, 1885, Streblosoma Sars, 1872, and Thelepus Leuckart, 1849 (Thelepodidae); and one new species of Terebellides Sars, 1835 and another of Trichobranchus Malmgren, 1866 (Trichobranchidae). Keys for identification of these species are provided, together with full descriptions for all species, as well as comparisons with the morphologically most similar congeners.

A phylogenetic analysis was performed to determine the monophyly of non-monotypic genera of the terebelliform family Polycirridae, i.e. Polycirrus, Amaeana, Lysilla, and Hauchiella, and the evolution of characters among members of this clade. The monotypic genera, Enoplobranchus and Biremis, were also included, together with members of both known species in Hauchiella. Representative species were included for remaining genera: 14 species of Polycirrus, six species of Amaeana, and six species of Lysilla. Out-groups consisted of representatives of Spionidae, Cirratulidae, and Sabellariidae, as well as several species of Telothelepodidae. A total of 40 in-and out-group species were coded for 50 subjects ('characters') and 117 subject-predicate relationships ('states'). Although results are consistent with recent phylogenetic studies within Terebelliformia that suggest Polycirridae monophyly, only Hauchiella was found to be monophyletic, albeit part of the more inclusive clade comprising remaining polycirrid genera. Evolutionary transformation series are discussed for selected characters in relation to the non-monophyly of Polycirrus, Lysilla, and Amaeana. Implications for the use of supraspecific taxa as 'taxonomic surrogates' are highlighted. The definition of Polycirridae is emended.