Four new species and further records of Dorvilleidae (Annelida, Polychaeta) from deep-sea organic substrata, NE Atlantic

Ascensão Ravara,Helena Wiklund,Marina R Cunha

doi:10.5852/ejt.2021.736.1251

Ascensão Ravara, Helena Wiklund + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.736.1251

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Abstract

Eight species of Ophryotrocha and one of Parougia were identified from organic substrata (wood and alfalfa) sampled at the Gulf of Cadiz and Western Iberian Margin (NE Atlantic). Morphological examination and molecular phylogenetic analyses, based on the nuclear gene H3 and the mitochondrial gene 16S, indicate the presence of four species new to science: Ophryotrocha chemecoli sp. nov., O. nunezi sp. nov., O. geoffreadi sp. nov. and Parougia ougi sp. nov. The geographic and/or bathymetric distribution is extended for four previously known species: O. cantabrica, O. hartmanni, O. mammillata and O. scutellus. Another species may also have its distribution extended, pending the molecular confirmation of its identity: O. lipscombae. Full descriptions and figures are given for all the new species and, when justified, also for the previously known ones. The original description of O. scutellus is amended. New DNA sequences are given for eight of the nine species studied here. The ecology and geographic distribution of the reported species is discussed.

Highlights

The family Dorvilleidae Chamberlin, 1919 includes at present 203 species ascribed to 32 genera, most of them being monospecific or comprising only a few species (Chamberlin 1919; Read & Fauchald 2020; Yen & Rouse 2020)
Five previously known species of Ophryotrocha are reported for the first time in the Gulf of Cadiz (Moroccan margin) and the West Iberian margin, extending their geographic and bathymetric distributions
This study provides a new record of O. hartmanni for the North Atlantic and extends the bathymetric distribution of the species to 1100 m depth

Summary

Introduction

The family Dorvilleidae Chamberlin, 1919 includes at present 203 species ascribed to 32 genera, most of them being monospecific or comprising only a few species (Chamberlin 1919; Read & Fauchald 2020; Yen & Rouse 2020). The other two genera, Parougia and Exallopus, include nineteen and five species, respectively (Read & Fauchald 2020; Yen & Rouse 2020) These genera, and Ophryotrocha in particular, are known to thrive in all kinds of organically enriched habitats (e.g., Wiklund et al 2009, 2012; Ravara et al 2015; Taboada et al 2016; Zhang et al 2017; Vedenin et al 2020). As new deep-sea organic-enriched places are studied (e.g., whale, wood or other organic falls), the rate of novel species of Ophryotrocha and related genera greatly increase when compared to the new records of already known species (e.g., Wiklund et al 2009, 2012; Taboada et al 2013; Salvo et al 2014; Ravara et al 2015). Molecular data is provided for eight out of the nine taxa studied

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