Revision of the Laonice bahusiensis complex (Annelida: Spionidae) with a description of three new species

Abstract

The morphological reexamination of specimens previously identified as Laonice bahusiensis Söderström, 1920 from North European and Mediterranean collections, supported by the molecular analysis of freshly collected material, enabled the recognition of four different species in the region: the genuine L. bahusiensis, L. irinae n. sp. from North European waters, and L. grimaldii n. sp. and L. mediterranea n. sp. from the Mediterranean Sea. The morphology of these species is described and illustrated, and their distributions are clarified based on old and new materials. A key for their identification is also provided. The Bayesian analysis of the COI sequences (483 bp) showed that these four species form a clade, namely the L. bahusiensis species complex, morphologically characterized by the continuous dorsal crests on postbranchiate chaetigers in the adults. The genetic p-distances between the species of the complex ranged from 13.27% to 17.99%, while the intraspecific variability ranged from 0.6% to 1.57%. Together with the sister species Laonice cirrata (Sars, 1851), the L. bahusiensis complex formed the Laonice (Laonice) clade, which is morphologically characterized by the prostomium fused with the anterior peristomial margin. However, the monophyly of the L. bahusiensis complex, as well as that of the clade Laonice (Laonice), needs to be further supported through the analysis of a greater set of genes from a larger number of species.

Polychaete diversity in Tunisian waters as of 2021: an update with special emphasis on Non-Indigenous species

“…2A, B). The specimen shown here also reaches a width of 1.4 mm as mentioned in the key for the L. bahusiensis species complex (Sikorski et al, 2021). L. bahusiensis was originally described from the Atlantic Ocean and subsequently from the Western (Sikorski, 2003) and the Eastern Mediterranean (Dagli et al, 2011).…”

Polychaetes (Annelida) of Cyprus (Eastern Mediterranean Sea): An Updated and Annotated Checklist including New Distribution Records

“…However, molecular data on nonindigenous polychaetes in European waters are still partial and, in particular, the majority of Lessepsian species is still unknown from the molecular point of view [85,86]. At present, the polychaete fauna of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is largely unexplored from the molecular point of view, and the fauna of Cyprus is not an exception; to our knowledge, partial data are available only for L. mediterranea and A. assimilis [87,88]. An increase in the molecular data available for polychaetes in the Mediterranean Sea and, in particular, in the Eastern sub-basin, is necessary to understand their diversity and evolution and to effectively face the currently ongoing biodiversity crisis.…”