Nephtyidae (Polychaeta) from the Gulf of California (Mexican Pacific) with the description of two new species of Aglaophamus

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the Nephtyidae from the Gulf of California. Previous studies about the family Nephtyidae from the continental shelf of the Gulf include 21 species of which seven have been synonymized by several authors, so that at present only 14 species are recognized. In this study, 1763 specimens of Nephtyidae from the continental shelf of the Gulf of California were examined. Eight species were identified, from which Aglaophamus longicirrata sp. nov. and Aglaophamus foliosa sp. nov. are newly described. Aglaophamus longicirrata sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of very long dorsal cirri in median parapodia and by having 16 rows of subterminal papillae with 3–7 papillae per row, and a pair of middorsal papillae on the proboscis. Aglaophamus foliosa sp. nov. is characterized by foliaceous long dorsal cirri; the proboscis bears 16 rows of subterminal papillae and an irregular number of papillae per row, from 5 to 15. A taxonomic key is presented for the species of Nephtyidae recorded from the continental shelf of the Gulf of California, including the two new species of Aglaophamus.