Interstitial annelids from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia

Abstract

A total of 298 species of polychaetes have been recorded from Colombia. However, only the family Protodrilidae has been reported from the marine interstitial realm. We here aim at identifying the interstitial annelids inhabiting the sandy beaches in Santa Marta region to the most accurate taxonomic level based on light microscopy examinations. Our samples, collected from the intertidal zone at three touristic beaches in the department of Magdalena (Santa Marta Bay, Rodadero Bay, and Taganga Bay), yielded a total of 83 specimens, which we assigned to five families, ten genera and nine species. From those, two families, eight genera, and the species Hesionides gohari, Neogyptis mediterranea, Neopetitia amphophthalma, Westheidesyllis gesae, and Syllis beneliahuae represent new records for the Colombian fauna. This survey should be considered as a first step towards a complete knowledge of the Colombian diversity of interstitial annelids, and our results significantly contribute to fill the gap of our current knowledge, suggesting a high diversity of species comparable to this in better-known areas of the Caribbean and the Atlantic coasts of Brazil. A brief diagnosis, comments on distribution and ecology, and remarks are provided for each record, in order to facilitate the re-identification of the species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(2): 658-673. Epub 2018 June 01.

Interstitial Annelida

“…In contrast, the larger species are rather common at the surface of coarse or gravelly sediments. Species of Lindrilus seem to prefer the slope of exposed beaches [191,201], whereas a quite diverse assemblage of protodrilids can be found in coarse and gravelly subtidal sediments accumulated at the surf zone, including Protodrilus albicans and M. schneideri in the Atlanto-Mediterranean area [28,45,46,202] and Protodrilus smithsoni, P. pythonius, and Megadrilus hochbergi around the Caribbean and Brazil [49,200,203]. These species cope with the turbulence in this highly hydrodynamic zone by exhibiting swimming behaviors facilitated by the well-developed body wall musculature and large size [28,49].…”

Polychaetes from the Caribbean coast of Colombia: An updated checklist and some taxonomic annotations

“…This number does not include nine species previously recorded as cf. (Victoria & Pérez, 1979;Báez & Ardila, 2003;Lagos, et al, 2018) and one species, Neoamphitrite amphitrite, considered questionable due to the lack of records in WORMS or in any other database. The family Eunicidae was best represented with 33 species (11.3%), followed by Syllidae with 23 species (7.8%) and Nereididae with 19 species (6.5%) ( Figure 2).…”

Nuevos registros de anélidos del banco de las Ánimas, Caribe colombiano

“…Su distribución incluye todos los mares del mundo, desde la zona intermareal hasta las profundidades abisales (Lagos et al, 2018). El estudio de los anélidos en Colombia se ha enriquecido con nuevos registros para el Caribe colombiano de localidades como las bahías de Santa Marta, Nenguanje y Cartagena, Cispatá y las islas de Providencia y Tortuguilla (Dueñas, 1981(Dueñas, , 1999Rodríguez-Gómez, 1988;Báez y Ardila, 2003;Quirós-Rodríguez et al, 2013;Dueñas-Ramírez y Dueñas-Lagos, 2016;Lagos et al, 2018;León et al, 2019). Se conoce que el estudio de anélidos inició con menos de 50 especies en los años 60, aumentando gradualmente y, concordando con el descubrimiento y aplicación de las técnicas moleculares, aumentó el registro con más de 253 especies para 2003.…”

“…Their distribution encompasses all the seas in the world, from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths (Lagos et al, 2018). The study of annelids in Colombia has been enriched with new records for the Colombian Caribbean and locations such as the bays of Santa Marta, Neguanje and Cartagena, Cispatá, and the islands of Providencia and Tortuguilla (Dueñas, 1981(Dueñas, , 1999Rodríguez-Gómez, 1988;Báez and Ardila, 2003;Quirós-Rodríguez et al, 2013;Dueñas-Ramírez and Dueñas-Lagos, 2016;Lagos et al, 2018;León et al, 2019). It is known that the study of annelids began with less than 50 species in the 1960s, a number that progressively grew.…”

“…Se hallaron 23 especies no registradas previamente para el Caribe colombiano. Se recomienda para estudios futuros considerar un enfoque que incluya técnicas morfológicas adicionales como microscopia de barrido laser confocal y microscopia electrónica, con el propósito de obtener información adicional sobre aspectos ecológicos, geográficos y de relaciones filogenéticas que puedan enriquecer la información obtenida (Di Domenico et al, 2014;Lagos et al, 2018).…”