Abstract
Three new species of Levinsenia were collected during a benthic survey, from 10–3,000 m deep, in Espírito Santo Basin, off the southeastern Brazilian coast. These species are L. paivai sp. nov., L. blakei sp. nov. and L. lesliae sp. nov. Members of L. paivai sp. nov. are recognized by the presence of nine pairs of well-developed and heavily ciliated branchiae, those of L. blakei sp. nov. are characterized by the presence of three pairs of small branchiae, and those of L. lesliae sp. nov., by the absence of branchiae and presence of notopodial transitional chaetae. These new species are described herein and compared to the most similar congeners. These are the first new species of Levinsenia described from off the Brazilian coast.
Highlights
Among the annelids inhabiting soft substrates, individuals of the family Paraonidae Cerruti, 1909 [1] are among the more abundant in shelf and slope depths [2,3,4]
Members of L. paivai sp. nov. are recognized by the presence of nine pairs of well-developed and heavily ciliated branchiae, those of L. blakei sp. nov. are characterized by the presence of three pairs of small branchiae, and those of L. lesliae sp. nov., by the absence of branchiae and presence of notopodial transitional chaetae
The aim of this study is to describe three new species of Levinsenia based on specimens collected from off southeastern Brazil, state of Espırito Santo, between 19 ̊3’S 37 ̊44’W and 21 ̊ 10’S 38 ̊28’W
Summary
Among the annelids inhabiting soft substrates, individuals of the family Paraonidae Cerruti, 1909 [1] are among the more abundant in shelf and slope depths [2,3,4]. This family has extraordinarily high species richness in deep-water habitats [5, 6] a few species are found in intertidal environments [7]. The family Levinseniidae was erected by Mesnil & Caullery [22], to accommodate the genera Levinsenia and Aricidea Webster, 1879 [23]
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