First record of Paraprionospio coora Wilson, 1990 (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from the Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

The spionid polychaete Paraprionospio pinnata (Ehlers, 1901) has been widely reported from the Mediterranean Sea. We examined some specimens belonging to the genus Paraprionospio that had been collected from the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Spanish Mediterranean coast, and identified them as Paraprionospio coora Wilson, 1990, which is new to the Mediterranean fauna. This finding indicates that P. coora has a widespread geographical distribution in Australia, the Far East and the Mediterranean, and suggests that the previous records of P. pinnata from the Mediterranean are questionable.

Four new alien species on the coasts of Greece (Eastern Mediterranean)

“…The examined specimens of P. coora agree well with the description of the species by YOKOYAMA et al (2010). The Greek specimens also have a small protuberance on the dorsum near the base of the third branchiae, and 2-3 pairs of apical teeth in neuropodial hooded hooks.…”

“…The closely similar species Paraprionospio pinnata (Ehlers, 1901) has a wide geographical distribution and is reported also from the western and eastern Mediterranean. However, the examination of older benthic material collected from the Aegean Sea and identified as P. pinnata revealed that the material actually belonged to P. coora (YOKOYAMA et al, 2010). SIMBOURA (1996) reported some specimens of a spionid species closely resembling P. pinnata, and assigned them to the genus Aquilaspio because of the insertion of the first pair of branchiae on the chaetiger 2.…”

“…should be re-examined and the occurrence of P. coora in the Mediterranean Sea might date more than a decade back. YOKOYAMA et al, (2010) also doubted the existence of P. pinnata in the Mediterranean. According to a checklist of the marine polychaete fauna of Greece (SIMBOURA & NICOLAIDOU, 2001), the oldest record of P. pinnata in Greek waters was sampled in 1983 in the Geras Gulf (DIAPOULIS & BOGDANOS, 1983) on muddy sand at 20 to 65 m depth (Table 1).…”

LifeWatchGreece: Research infrastructure (ESFRI) for biodiversity data and data observatories

“…In the Mediterranean also known from Turkey (Yokoyama et al 2010(Yokoyama et al , Çınar et al 2014, Spain , Tunisia (Zaâbi et al 2012) and the Adriatic , otherwise known from the Pacific Ocean (Australia, Far East).…”

“…Several authors suggest that Mediterranean records of this species should be assigned to Paraprionospio coora (Yokoyama et al 2010, Simboura et al 2010.…”