Aricidea (Strelzovia) claudiae Laubier 1967

Aricidea (Strelzovia) claudiae Laubier, 1967

(Figures 43–46)

Aricidea claudiae Laubier 1967: 124–128, fig. 8–9.

Aricidea (Strelzovia) claudiae: Aguirrezabalaga 2012:191–193, fig. 73–74.

Material examined. ESFM-POL/2013-1281, 06 June 2013, station Y1, 40°00’32’’N, 26°13’04’’E, 25 m, mud, 3 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1283, 06 June 2013, station Y1, 40°01’08’’N, 26°13’00’’E, 50 m, mud, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-58, 06 June 2013, station Y2, 40°06’32’’N, 26°22’31’’E, 25 m, mud with pebble, 5 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1286, 06 June 2013, station Y2, 40°06’59’’N, 26°22’04’’E, 50 m, muddy sand, 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1254, 07 June 2013, station Y4, 40°18’09’’N, 26°35’15’’E, 50 m, sand, 5 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-87, 07 June 2013, station Y5, 40°20’56’’N, 26°40’51’’E, 10 m, mud, 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-92, 07 June 2013, station Y5, 40°20’55’’N, 26°40’38’’E, 25 m, mud, 31 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-96, 07 June 2013, station Y6, 40°26’10’’N, 26°41’51’’E, 10 m, mud, 41 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1137, 07 June 2013, station Y6, 40°26’03’’N, 26°41’59’’E, 25 m, mud, 16 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-953, 07 June 2013, station Y7, 40°24’28’’N, 26°51’24’’E, 25 m, maerl bed, 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-954, 07 June 2013, station Y8, 40°25’15’’N, 27°03’49’’E, 10 m, mud, 1141 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-957, 08 June 2013, station Y9, 40°26’25’’N, 27°11’29’’E, 25 m, mud, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-958, 07 June 2013, station Y10, 40°30’38’’N, 26°54’58’’E, 25 m, maerl bed, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-959, 08 June 2013, station Y11, 40°36’12’’N, 27°05’20’’E, 10 m, mud, 14 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-962, 08 June 2013, station Y11, 40°35’55’’N, 27°05’25’’E, 25 m, mud with Turitella sp., 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-963, 08 June 2013, station Y11, 40°34’50’’N, 27°05’59’’E, 50 m, mud, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-964, 08 June 2013, station Y12, 40°40’38’’N, 27°16’25’’E, 10 m, sand, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-965, 08 June 2013, station Y12, 40°40’23’’N, 27°16’31’’E, 25 m, mud, 3 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-967, 10 June 2013, station Y13, 40°44’59’’N, 27°20’16’’E, 10 m, muddy sand with shell fragments, 43 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-969, 10 June 2013, station Y13, 40°45’00’’N, 27°20’29’’E, 25 m, sand with muddy shell fragments, 16 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-970, 10 June 2013, station Y13, 40°45’15’’N, 27°20’49’’E, 50 m, maerl bed, 10 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-971, 10 June 2013, station Y13, 40°45’27’’N, 27°21’24’’E, 100 m, mud, 32 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-973, 08 June 2013, station Y14, 40°24’03’’N, 27°19’23’’E, 10 m, sandy mud with shell fragments, 29 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-975, 08 June 2013, station Y14, 40°24’22’’N, 27°20’48’’E, 25 m, mud, 3 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-976, 08 June 2013, station Y15, 40°19’11’’N, 27°33’51’’E, 10 m, sandy mud, 151 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-979, 08 June 2013, station Y 15, 50 m, 40°25’41’’N, 27°27’57’’E, mud, 7 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-980, 09 June 2013, station Y16, 40°18’39’’N, 27°45’43’’E, 25 m, mud with Amphiura sp., 15 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-983, 09 June 2013, station Y16, 40°24’13’’N, 27°39’47’’E, 41 m, mud, 11 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-985, 09 June 2013, station Y17, 40°39’58’’N, 27°41’08’’E, 50 m, mud, 27 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-988, 09 June 2013, station Y17, 40°41’03’’N, 27°39’52’’E, 100 m, mud, 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-989, 10 June 2013, station Y18, 40°54’28’’N, 27°33’24’’E, 25 m, maerl bed, 4 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-991, 10 June 2013, station Y18, 40°54’28’’N, 27°33’24’’E, 100 m, mud with shell fragments, 9 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-993, 12 June 2013, station Y19, 40°59’52’’N, 27°41’59’’E, 10 m, maerl bed, 125 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-996, 12 June 2013, station Y19, 40°58’36’’N, 27°42’29’’E, 25 m, maerl bed, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-997, 12 June 2013, station Y19, 40°56’10’’N, 27°44’16’’E, 100 m, sandy mud with shell fragments, 8 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1000, 12 June 2013, station Y20, 40°57’09’’N, 27°54’46’’E, 50 m, mud with shell fragments, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-1001, 16 June 2013, station Y22, 40°23’22’’N, 27°59’46’’E, 50 m, mud, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-527, 16 June 2013, station Y23, 40°27’20’’N, 28°10’19’’E, 50 m, maerl bed, 11 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1003, 16 June 2013, station Y24, 41°00’16’’N, 28°07’50’’E, 50 m, muddy sand with shell fragment, 11 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1006, 15 Jun 2013, station Y24, 40°57’20’’N, 28°07’21’’E, 100 m, sand with muddy shell fragments, 5 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-999, 16 June 2013, station Y25, 40°24’48’’N, 28°20’41’’E, 25 m, sandy mud with Amphiura filiformis, 7 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1009, 16 June 2013, station Y25, 40°26’49’’N, 28°19’11’’E, 50 m, mud, 2 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1010, 16 June 2013, station Y26, 40°22’36’’N, 28°39’41’’E, 25 m, sand with muddy shell fragments, 19 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1012, 17 June 2013, station Y29, 40°32’39’’N, 28°46’42’’E, 50 m, muddy sand, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-1013, 17 June 2013, station Y29, 40°33’32’’N, 28°44’58’’E, 100 m, muddy sand, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-1014, 14 June 2013, station Y31, 41°01’25’’N, 28°26’23’’E, 25 m, maerl bed, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-501, 23 June 2013, station Y32, 41°00’28’’N, 28°34’27’’E, 10 m, mud, 97 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1017, 23 June 2013, station Y32, 40°55’06’’N, 28°34’11’’E, 100 m, sandy mud, 1 specimen; ESFM-POL/2013-1018, 24 June 2013, station Y34, 40°56’12’’N, 28°51’53’’E, 50 m, maerl bed, 3 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013-1019, 24 June 2013, 40°54’50’’N, 28°52’12’’E, station Y 34, 100 m, sandy mud with shell fragments, 3 specimens; ESFM-POL/2013- 1021, 19 June 2013, station Y38, 40°47’42’’N, 29°18’22’’E, 50 m, muddy sand, 1 specimen.

Description. Largest specimen complete, 19.50 mm, 0.50 mm wide, with 125 chaetigers. Color in alcohol usually light yellow; gamete bearing specimens with reddish-brown speckles near notopodia in branchial and postbranchial regions. Body thick and long; anterior part slightly wider, posterior part gradually becoming thinner (Figs 43 A–B; 44A–B).

Prostomium subtriangular, much wider than long (length / width: 1.1), anterior margin rounded, bending dorsally, with an apical sensory organ, eyes present (Figs 43 A–C; 44D; 45A, E). A pair of short ciliary bands (not connecting each other) located posterior-ventrally to nuchal organs, termed as nonconvergent ciliary bands (nccb); one complete ciliated band present at base of antenna, surrounding prostomium ventrally, ended with a vertical slit on dorso-lateral sides, termed as slash-like cilia band (slcb) (Figs 44 C–D; 45E). A pair of ciliated slits located transversally on anterior margin of anterior lips, termed as ciliary slits of anterior lips (csal) (Fig. 44D). Prostomium with two annulations; first annulation from anterior margin of prostomium to slash-like ciliary band, second annulation from slash-like ciliary band to nonconvergent ciliary bands. Antenna clavate-shaped, long (ratio antenna length / prostomium length: 1.2), reaching up to middle of chaetiger 2, covered with cilia (Fig. 44 C–D). A pair of nuchal organs as wide, short slits placed on dorso-lateral sides from middle to posterior part of prostomium, more or less convex in shape; dense internal ciliation present, cilia not reaching to outer margin of slits; with brown speckles (Figs 43B; 44 A–C). Mouth with three lips; two placed anteriorly, one placed posteriorly and extending to anterior margin of chaetiger 1, without longitudinal folds; proboscis without lobes (Fig. 45B).

A dense dorsal ciliary band (dcb) present on mid-dorsal transversal line of each prebranchial and branchial chaetigers; each cilia terminates with a horse-shoe shaped tip (Fig. 45F). A pair of short dorsal ciliary bands (sdcb) present just posterior to each branchial base (Figs. 44 A–B). Ciliary bands absent on ventral side (Fig. 45B).

A bulge present on mid-dorsal side of chaetigers in branchial region; extremely large on chaetiger 4, extending to posterior margin of chaetiger 3; a short swelling (ss) present on mid-dorsal side of chaetigers in prebranchial branchial regions after chaetiger 4; a pair of weakly developed skin folds (sf) located dorso-lateral sides of chaetigers in pre- and branchial regions (Figs 43 A–C; 44A; 45A).

Branchiae 15–17 pairs, starting in chaetiger 4; flattened and cylindro-conical shaped (Figs 43 A–B); an asymmetrical swelling present on proximal part of branchiae; becoming longer but not elongated in posterior part of branchial region (Figs 44A; 46C); 262 μm long in anterior region, 273 μm long in middle region and 321 μm long in posterior region.

Notopodial postchaetal lobes short and cirriform in first two chaetigers; digitiform with an asymmetrical swelling on base in first nine branchial chaetigers; digitiform with a symmetrical swelling on base in middle and posterior branchial chaetigers; filiform in posterior chaetigers (Figs 43 C–F; 44A–B; 46C–D). Neuropodial postchaetal lobes present as a ridge in chaetigers 1–13 (Fig. 43 D–E). Ventral lobes present in chaetiger 4–10, short, rounded (Fig. 45B). Interramal lobes and notopodial papilla absent (Fig. 46C).

Lateral sense organs present in all chaetigers, located between notopodia and neuropodia, posterior to notopodial postchaetal lobes, except for branchial region where lateral sense organ are located on base of notopodial postchaetal lobes; with flexible cilia distinctly protruding from opening or embedded into pore (Fig. 46 A–D); elliptical with irregularly clustered pores from pre-branchial to mid-branchial region; straight line-shaped with regular clustered pores from mid-branchial region to end of body; 18–20 pores in prebranchial region (long axis: ca. 5 μm), with 35–40 pores (long axis: 5–6 μm) in mid-branchial region; with 35–40 pores (length: 11–12 μm) in posterior part of branchial region; with ca. 45–50 pores (length: 13–14 μm) in posterior region.

Three types of chaetae present on chaetigers: capillary, limbate and modified neurochaeta. Limbate chaetae of two types; first type present in notopodia of chaetigers 1–20, numbering 18–20, arranged in four rows, 120–251 µm long, thin and straight with fibrils along edge (hirsute), directed towards postero-dorsal side, light rose-colored; second type present in neuropodia of chaetigers 1–20, numbering 24–35, arranged in five rows, ca. 218–255 µm long, much wider and sigmoid with fibrils along edge (hirsute), directed posteriorly, light rose-colored (Figs. 43 D–E; 45A).

Capillary chaetae starting in noto- and neuropodia of chaetiger 21 and present in all subsequent chaetigers; in middle notopodia numbering 20–24, arranged in 3–4 rows, ca. 170 μm long; in posterior notopodia numbering 14–20, arranged in 2 rows, ca. 247 μm long; in middle neuropodia numbering 15–18, arranged in 2–3 rows, ca. 224 μm long; in posterior neuropodia numbering 5–7, arranged in one row, ca. 361 μm long.

Three types of modified neurochaetae present from chaetiger 33–40 to pygidium, numbering 5–10 accompanied by capillary chaetae in each neuropodium, colorless; first type Strelzovia- type, very long (average length: 362 µm), becoming gradually thinner hirsute appearance due to numerous short fibrils on convex side; second type in Strelzovia - type long (average length: 164 µm), getting abruptly thinner with fibrils on on convex side; third type short (average length: 78 µm), thick and slightly curved subterminally, with a long arista on terminal region, without fibrils on convex side (Figs. 43H; 45 C–D).

Pygidium rounded with three anal cirri; two cirri very long, filiform, placed on latero-ventral side; one cirrus short, located mid-ventrally; anal aperture on dorsal side (Fig. 43G).

Reproduction. Some specimens of Aricidea claudiae collected in the Sea of Marmara had gametes (eggs and sperm packages) in their colomic cavities from chaetiger 33 to the last. Six eggs were present in each segment, having a diameter of 85–130 μm. Sperm packages started usually in chaetiger 43, with each chaetiger bearing two packages. Female specimens had red speckles, while male specimens had brown speckles along the body, representing sexual color dimorphism.

Remarks. The morphology of the specimens of Aricidea claudiae from the Sea of Marmara resembles the original and subsequent descriptions of the species (Laubier & Ramos 1974; Strelzov 1979; Aguirrezabalaga & Gil 2009).

The shape of ciliary bands on the prostomium of Aricidea claudiae differs from all other Aricidea species found in the present study. For other species, the crown-like ciliary band (clcb) has been identified as a complete ciliated band, emerging near one nuchal organ and ended close to the other, connecting them ventrally but not on dorsal side. Aricidea claudiae does not have the ciliary band (clcb), but exceptionally does have a pair of nonconvergent ciliary bands (nccb), which are short and located only on the posterior-lateral sides of the prostomium. In addition, A. claudiae has two additional different ciliary structures; a pair of ciliary slits located transversally on the anterior lips (csal) and a continuous ciliary band ended with slash like slits (sclb) on the dorso-lateral sides of the prostomium (Fig. 44D).

Habitat and Distribution. Aricidea claudiae was found on soft substrata between 10 and 100 m depths in the Sea of Marmara. According to the previous studies, this species occurs in similar habitats at 10–576 m depths in northeast Atlantic Ocean (Aguirrezabalaga & Gil 2009), western (Laubier 1967; Castelli 1988) and eastern (Çinar et al. 2014) Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea (Strelzov 1979).