First record of the polychaete Ficopomatus uschakovi (Pillai, 1960) (Annelida, Serpulidae) in the Colombian Caribbean, South America

Catalina Arteaga-Florez,Mario Londoño-Mesa,Vanessa Fernandez-Rodriguez

doi:10.3897/zookeys.371.5588

Abstract

The genus Ficopomatus (Serpulidae) consists of sessile, tubicolous polychaete annelid worms that may colonize a diversity of substrata, and tolerate considerable variations in salinity. Thus, members of this genus, including Ficopomatus uschakovi, in some cases are exotic and maybe invasive. The purpose of our research was to collect and identify marine organisms associated with the submerged roots of mangrove trees in the Gulf of Urabá, Colombian Caribbean, South America. Within the Gulf, there is a well-developed forest of the Red Mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, along the margins of El Uno Bay. We sampled the roots of R. mangle from five stations of the bay, and we identified specimens of F. uschakovi from each of those stations. Ficopomatus uschakovi was found to be more abundant in regions of the bay that exhibit the lowest salinity. Based on a morphological comparison of the present specimens with the original species description, revised descriptions, and other records from the Indo-West Pacific, Mexican Pacific, and Venezuelan and Brazilian Caribbean, we suggest that F. uschakovi has a broader geographical distribution. Furthermore, because of this broad distribution, and the observed tolerance for low salinity in our study, we also suggest that F. uschakovi is a euryhaline species. It is also likely that F. uschakovi will be found in other localities in the Gulf of Urabá, and in other regions of the Colombian Caribbean. Thus, this record extends the distribution of the species to the Colombian Caribbean, giving the species a continuous distribution across the northern coast of South America.

Highlights

The family Serpulidae Rafinesque, 1815, includes a group of sedentary polychaetes that are recognizable by their calcareous tubes, with irregularly twisted or spiral growth, and by the complexity of their radiolar crown (Rouse and Pleijel 2001)
The genus Ficopomatus Southern, 1921 is characterized by having an opaque tube with or without keels, peristomes, and tabulae; a body that tapers in diameter from anterior to posterior; a conical or pear-shaped operculum inserted behind the left brachial lobe, uncovered or covered with either a chitinous, non-calcified endplate or with numerous chitinous spines in the distal tissue; the collar is non-lobed with “saw-edged” chaetae; the thorax may have free or
According to Pillai (2008), F. uschakovi should be included in Neopomatus Pillai, 1960 due to the presence of one pair of fused thoracic membranes; several authors do not accept this genus (Hove and Kupriyanova 2009, Bastida-Zavala and García-Madrigal 2012)

Summary

Introduction

The family Serpulidae Rafinesque, 1815, includes a group of sedentary polychaetes that are recognizable by their calcareous tubes, with irregularly twisted or spiral growth, and by the complexity of their radiolar crown (Rouse and Pleijel 2001). Other features, such as the shape of the operculum, the branchial crown, the form, type and position of chaetae along the collar, the thoracic membranes, as well as the thorax and abdomen, represent important taxonomic characters (Hove and Kupriyanova 2009). According to Pillai (2008), F. uschakovi should be included in Neopomatus Pillai, 1960 due to the presence of one pair of fused thoracic membranes; several authors do not accept this genus (Hove and Kupriyanova 2009, Bastida-Zavala and García-Madrigal 2012)

Objectives

Methods