Scolelepis (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from the Brazilian coast with a diagnosis of the genus

Abstract

Species of Scolelepis are bathymetrically widespread in almost all types of substrates (BLAKE 1996), and are the dominant genus of Spionidae in sand-beaches and other near-shore areas.Scolelepis was revised by MACIOLEK (1987), who based the description of the genus on the morphology of the hooded hooks and proposed the establishment of two subgenera, Scolelepis and Parascolelepis. Species with uni-, bi-or tridentate hooks should be included within the subgenus Scolelepis Blainville, 1828, whereas those with multidentate hooks are included within Parascolelepis Maciolek, 1987. This division into two subgenera has been adopted by several authors (e.g., BLAKE 1996, DELGADO-BLAS 2006, DELGADO-BLAS et al. 2009 Orensanz & Gianuca, 1974; Parascolelepis texana Foster, 1971(AMARAL et al. 2012) and P. quinquedentata Hartmann Schröder, 1965(LANA et al. 2006. The overlap of characteristics among different species, and the great variability within and among populations have lead to difficulties in species diagnostics, increasing the risk of misidentification. For example, BOLIVAR & LANA (1986) and MACCORD & AMARAL (2005), observing the considerable morphological variability in the material referred to as S. squamata, a widely recorded species, proposed that it might be considered as a species complex. Similar variability has been reported in other studies. ZHOU et al. (2009), after studying Scolelepis species on northern Chinese beaches , pointed out that, after carefully reviewing the material previously described as S. squamata, they were describing it as a new species, Scolelepis daphoinos. DELGADO-BLAS (2006), studying the genus in the Gran Caribbean region, revalidated four species based on the shape of the notopodial lamellae, viz., S. goodbodyi (Jones, 1962), S. minuta Treadwell, 1939, S. acuta (Treadwell, 1914 and S. agilis Verrill, 1873, thereby removing them from synonymy with S. squamata Müller, 1806. Furthermore, FOSTER (1971 and LIGHT (1977) also discussed the considerable morphological variation of S. squamata, for instance, the presence and degree of development of a notch on the median neuropodia, and the presence or absence of notopodial hooded hooks within a single population of the species. Hence there is a perceivable difficulty in establishing the identity of this particular species, and also of the genus Scolelepis.In this study, specimens of Scolelepis collected off the Brazilian coast were examined. The present paper is a contribution to the knowledge of the genus in Brazil. It presents new records of two species, Scolelepis acuta (Treadwell, 1914) and S. andradei Delgado-Blas, Díaz & Liñero-Arana, 2009, and evidence of an expanded range for two species: S. lighti Delgado-Blas, 2006 and S. goodbodyi Jones, 1962. MATERIAL AND METHODSThe specimens analyzed in this study were collected from 15 beaches along the coast of Brazil. Sediment samples, collected with a shovel, were processed with 0.5 mm mesh sieves. Scolelepis

Do natural disturbances have significant effects on sandy beach macrofauna of Southeastern Brazil?

“…On the other hand, the sedentary polychaete Scolelepis sp. were more abundant in Manguinhos Beach related to higher swash times, corroborating their usual dominance on dissipative beaches in the Brazilian coast and (Amaral et al 2006, Rocha andPaiva 2012). Fine sediment and stable swash climate allow the construction of semi-permanent burrows, increasing the importance of deposit feeders (e.g., Scolelepis) in the communities (Brown and McLachlan 2010).…”

Análises morfométricas de quatro espécies de Scolelepis (Annelida: Spionidae) no litoral do Brasil

“…A dificuldade em discriminar espécies do gênero Scolelepis faz com que as informações morfométricas contribuam com a morfologia convencional para discriminar as espécies do gênero. Por exemplo, S. chilensis, S. goodbodyi e S. squamata foram muitas vezes confundidas umas com as outras a ponto de S. goodbodyi ter sido considerada como sinônimo júnior de S. squamata (Delgado-Blas, 2006;Rocha et al, 2009;Rocha & Paiva, 2012). Entretanto, com nossos resultados foi possível discriminá-las, sobretudo S. chilensis e S. squamata, cuja diferenciação morfológica é bastante problemática.…”

New species of Scolelepis (Polychaeta, Spionidae) from the Norwegian coast and Barents Sea with a brief review of the genus

“…Maciolek (1987) provided an important revision of Scolelepis and divided it into two subgenera, Scolelepis and Parascolelepis. This division is based mainly on the morphology of the hooded hooks (Maciolek 1987: 16-17) and has been used by subsequent authors (e.g., Delgado-Blas 2006;Zhou et al 2009;Rocha & de Paiva 2012). Some authors have used the two as genera rather than subgenera (Blake 2006, Williams 2007.…”

“…Currently the genus Scolelepis contains 86 species, 74 species in the subgenus Scolelepis (including the new one) and 12 species in the subgenus Parascolelepis ( Table 1). The latest articles (e.g., Delgado-Blas 2006, Blake 2006, Delgado-Blas et al 2009, dos Santos et al 2009, Rocha & de Paiva 2012 have recognized only about 45 species of Scolelepis and 12 of Parascolelepis worldwide, while Rocha et al (2009) reconized a total of about 80 species. Some authors have used Scolelepis and Parascolelepis as genera rather than subgenera (Blake 2006, Williams 2007.…”