Samytha sp. 1
Amphaertinae Malmgren, 1866
Samytha Malmgren, 1866
Samytha sp. 1
Voucher. Toroa: station T10FB
Diagnosis. Voucher is the only specimen collected in this study; a complete specimen, robust, thorax inflated, abdomen tapering; dark yellow to pale orange in alcohol; length 15mm, width 1.5mm (at widest point of the thorax); thorax composed of 17 chaetigers, of these 14 uncinigers, with conspicuous ventral shields in 5-6 thoracic uncinigers; abdomen with 11 uncinigers. Anterior notopodia well developed, increasing in size from first to third pair; second notopodia dorsally shifted; notopodia without cirri. Abdominal uncinigers, without rudimentary notopodia; 1st reduced in size, others developed into typical ampharetid pinnules.
Prostomium with large, square-shaped middle lobe encircled by surrounding lobe; prostomium without glandular ridges or eyespots. Lower lip forms a high collar-like structure, with many wide and shallow crenulations on anterior margin. Paleae absent. Tips of buccal tentacles exposed, smooth, somewhat distally flattened and inflated, with dark orange pigments. Three pairs of branchiae, grouped, ceratophores forming a ridge, with one placed posteriorly to other two; two separated by small median gap; branchial style mostly missing, only one still attached cylindrical, inflated, annulated, with dark yellow to orange pigmentation.
Notochaetae few, arranged in longer and shorter row, narrowly limbate. Thoracic uncini with 5 teeth above rostral tooth and basal prow (appear to be arranged in a single or two vertical rows), tori without cirri. Abdominal uncini with 4 teeth in 3 alternating vertical rows over rostral tooth and basal prow.
Pygidium without any cirri.
Remarks. Falkland specimen likely represents a new species. Ehlers (1913) described S. speculatrix from Kaiser Wilhelm II Land, Southern Ocean, depth 350m as having 12 abdominal unciniger and pigmented eyespots. Other valid species in genus Samytha can be differentiated by number of abdominal uncinigers (AUs): S. californiensis Hartman 1969 with 16/20 AUs, S. gurjanovae Uschakov, 1950 with 19 AUs, S. hesslei Caullery, 1944 with 25/26 AUs, S. sexcirrata (Sars, 1856) with 13 AUs, and S. annenkovae with 15 AUs. Only S. storchi Reuscher and Wehe, 2009 has 11 AUs this is however a shallow water species described from the Red Sea which differs from other known species, including FI specimens in having branchiophores all fused and located on the first chaetiger, without a gap.
