Abstract
Soft-bottom material collected from the northern part of the Sea of Marmara (off Küçükçekmece) included a total of 67 species belonging to 24 polychaete families. Three species (Brania pusilla, Lysidice cf. margaritacea and Sabellaria spinulosa) are new records for the Sea of Marmara. Three alien species (Polydora cornuta, Prionospio pulchra and Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata) were found at the shallow-water stations. Different polychaete assemblages occurred in the area and the mud percentage of sediment and salinity were the main factors related to their distribution. A new Polydora species, which is mainly characterized in having brownish pigmentation solely on the antero-dorsal sides of the body, and falcate major spines with only a bulge (anterior ones) or with a bulge and a small tooth, is described.
Highlights
Studies on polychaetes in the Sea of Marmara date back to the end of 1800s, when Colombo (1885) and Ostroumoff (1894; 1896) reported some species from the shallow- and deep-sea environments in the area, including the Çanakkale and İstanbul Straits
Çinar et al (2011) found 198 polychaete species in different habitats and depths, of which 84 species were newly added to the faunal inventory, including four Levinsenia and one Prosphaerosyllis species new to science
Some stations sampled off Küçükçekmece in the northern part of the Sea of Marmara in June 2007 (Istanbul University project, T-770) yielded a species of Polydora characterized by distinctive anterior brownish spots and bars
Summary
Studies on polychaetes in the Sea of Marmara date back to the end of 1800s, when Colombo (1885) and Ostroumoff (1894; 1896) reported some species from the shallow- and deep-sea environments in the area, including the Çanakkale and İstanbul Straits. Some stations sampled off Küçükçekmece in the northern part of the Sea of Marmara in June 2007 (Istanbul University project, T-770) yielded a species of Polydora characterized by distinctive anterior brownish spots and bars. This species had been noticed previously by the first author among benthic materials collected from the Beymelek Lagoon on the southern coast of Turkey (Levantine Sea). The Turkish specimens were determined to belong to a new species, P. brunneopunctata, following comparison with other species of Polydora worldwide
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