Abstract
Notomastus koreanus sp. n., collected from the sublittoral muddy bottom of Korean waters, is described as a new species. The Korean new species closely resembles N. torquatus Hutchings & Rainer, 1979 in the chaetal arrangement and the details of abdominal segments, but differs in the position of genital pores and the absence of eyes. DNA sequences (mtCOI, 16S rRNA, and histone H3) of the new species were compared with all the available sequences of Notomastus species in the GenBank database. Three genes showed significant genetic differences between the new species and its congeners (COI: 51.2%, 16S: 38.1–47.3%, H3: 3.7–9.3%). This study also includes a comprehensive comparison of the new Korean Notomastus species with its most closely similar species, based on the morphological and genetic results.
Highlights
Capitellid polychaetes build spiral burrows or U-shape tubes in bottom sediments, which increase the subsurface penetration of water and oxygen, improving the recruitment and growth of small benthic organisms (Fauchald and Jumars 1979, Scaps 2002)
The hooded hook dentition of N. latericeus Sars, 1851 has been described differently in the published records of the species, and the protruded lateral organs had been mistaken as the branchiae in the former records of Notomastus species from Japan and Vietnam (Day 1967, Fauvel 1927, Green 2002, Thomassin 1970)
Green (2002) clarified that Dodecaseta and Rashgua differed from Notomastus in the chaetal distribution, which was regarded as a good generic character
Summary
Capitellid polychaetes build spiral burrows or U-shape tubes in bottom sediments, which increase the subsurface penetration of water and oxygen, improving the recruitment and growth of small benthic organisms (Fauchald and Jumars 1979, Scaps 2002). The genus Notomastus Sars, 1851 is one of the most common and species-rich genus in the Capitellidae Grube, 1862 and occurs from the intertidal to the deep sea in a variety of sediment types including fine, medium, and silty sand and mud (Dean 2001). It currently contains 43 valid species, which is the highest number of species among the capitellid genera (Gil and Bellan 2017). The aim of the present study is to clarify the taxonomic status of the undescribed Notomastus species of Korea by morphological and genetic analysis using three different partial genes (mtCOI, 16S rRNA, and H3) and to compare Korean species with their closest congeners
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