Laubieriopsis cf. brevis (Hartman, 1967)
Fauveliopsidae Hartman, 1971
Laubieriopsis Petersen, 2000
Laubieriopsis cf. brevis (Hartman, 1967)
Voucher. LOLIGO: station 14FA.
Diagnosis. Voucher specimen complete with 16 chaetigers, measuring 5mm long and 0.4mm wide.
Body slender, cylindrical without obvious segmentation except for segments 1–4, which form an oval unit distinct from the rest of body. Epithelium smooth, shiny to iridescent, translucent, single tiny visible papilla can be observed laterally on most segments.
Prostomium retracted surrounded by one achaetous peristomial ring. Parapodia biramous, not well developed throughout, best developed and present as lateral transverse welts in segments 1–4, inconspicuous in middle and posterior segments. Chaetae on chaetigers 1-4 of two types – spines and capillaries; elongated pale to yellowish, fairly straight, distally blunt sigmoid spines numbering 2 per fascicle, each with accompanying capillary. Chaetigers 5 to 16 with 1 fine slender capillary and 1 blunt-tipped spine; spines shorter than those on chaetiger 1-4 (tips often broken) and extending beyond end of body. Anus terminal, usually withdrawn within bilobed last segment. Boundary between distal part of last segment and pygidium indistinct, with midventral cleft.
Remarks. With 16 segments, last segment with spines extending beyond end of body and segments 1–4 of holotype without bidentate modified chaetae, the specimens agrees with Laubieriopsis brevis. Good summary of the taxonomic problems of this species following problematic description by Hartman (1967) was given by Petersen (2000). It is possible that more than one species exist within what Petersen considered Laubieriopsis brevis complex (see Petersen, 2000 for details).
REFERENCES
Hartman, O. 1967. Polychaetous annelids collected by the USNS Eltanin and Staten Island cruises, chiefly from Antarctic Seas. Allan Hancock Monographs in Marine Biology, 2: 1-387.
page(s): 123, plate 37 figs. A-B
Petersen, M.E. (2000). A new genus of Fauveliopsidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) with a review of its species and redescription of some described taxa. Bulletin of Marine Science. 67(1): 491-515., available online at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/umrsmas/bullmar/2000/00000067/0...
page(s): 502-503
