Aurospio foodbancsia Mincks et al. 2009

Aurospio Maciolek, 1981

Aurospio foodbancsia  Mincks, Dyal, Paterson, Smith & Glover, 2009 

Voucher specimens.  Sea Lion: Station 15MFC; Vinson West: Station 5MFA

Diagnosis. Vouchers incomplete; small, slender bodied worm, vouchers  4.5 and 6.2 mm long for 22 and 51 segments, maximum width 0.4 mm; colour in alcohol pale yellow. Prostomium anteriorly rounded, slightly longer than wide, with short caruncle extending to the beginning of chaetiger 2; eyes absent; palps missing.

Branchiae present on chaetiger 3 only, absent on all other chaetigers; branchiae smooth, digiform, smaller than notopodial lamellae, often shielded and difficult to observe. Notopodial lamellae of chaetigers 23 enlarged, leafshaped and dorsally pointed, largest on chaetiger 3. Notopodial lamellae highly reduced on chaetiger 1, small and rounded on chaetiger 4, with low dorsal crests from chaetiger 9. Neuropodial lamellae of chaetiger 1 reduced to a small lobe, rounded on chaetiger 2, rounded and dorsally projecting on chaetiger 3, thereafter small and rounded.

Anterior chaetae long capillaries; granulated, stout, single sabre chaeta from chaetiger 10 in neuropodia; multidentate hooded hooks from chaetiger 11 in neuropodia, up to 5 per fascicle.  Pygidium not observed.

Remarks. The specimens collected from Falkland Islands agree well with the description of A. foodbancsia, which has been described from the shelf of Bellingshausen Sea (Mincks et al., 2009). Due to lack of complete specimens in Falkland Island material, it is impossible to compare the occurrence and form of notopodial hooded hooks and form of pygidium with A. foodbancsia.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith