Prionospio and Paraprionospio (Polychaeta: Siphonidae) from southern Australia

Abstract

Wilson, R.S., 1990. Prionospio and Paraprionospia (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from sou-

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

“…Remarks: The Mediterranean specimens of Paraprionospio coora closely agree with the original description of the species from Australia by WILSON (1990), but have 2-3 pairs of apical teeth in neuropodial hooded hooks rather than only 2 pairs of apical teeth. A variable number of apical teeth was noted within the Mediterranean specimens, suggesting that this is not a stable characteristic to be used in distinguishing species.…”

“…2d) instead of the slender filament in some of the other Paraprionospio species (see Figs 1,10,11,13,14 in YOKOYAMA, 2007). WILSON (1990), YOKOYAMA (2007) andZHOU et al (2008) did not mention this characteristic however, we found the same structure in the Japanese specimens of P. coora. Hence, we identified the Mediterranean specimens as P. coora.…”

“…A variable number of apical teeth was noted within the Mediterranean specimens, suggesting that this is not a stable characteristic to be used in distinguishing species. Interneuropodial pouches were found in most specimens collected from Australia (WILSON, 1990) and in some specimens from Japan (YOKOYAMA, 2007) and China (ZHOU et al, 2008), whereas all Mediterranean specimens examined in this study lack this characteristic. However, it seems this is not a stable characteristic which can be dependably used in distinguishing species, Medit.…”

“…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.…”

“…They suggested that the observed variations might be sufficient to allow the forms to be distinguished at the specific level, but they did not determine species names. Later, YOKOYAMA (2007) published a revision of the genus Paraprionospio, in which 9 valid species including 4 Japanese species that are P. coora Wilson, 1990, and 3 undescribed species (P. cordifolia Yokoyama, 2007, P. oceanensis Yokoyama, 2007and P. patiens Yokoyama, 2007 were validated. ZHOU et al (2008) also examined the Chinese specimens, which were previously identified as P. pinnata, and found that they belonged to the three species, P. coora, P. inaequibranchia (Caullery, 1914) and an undescribed species (P. cristata Zhou, Yokoyama & Li, 2008).…”