Paradiopatra bihanica Intes & LeLoeuff 1975

Paradiopatra bihanica (Intes & LeLoeuff, 1975)

Figure 1

Onuphis bihanica Intes & LeLoeuff, 1975: 314, fig. 11a–h. Sarsonuphis bihanica— Fauchald 1982: 68 –69, fig. 15c. Paradiopatra bihanica— Paxton 1986: 38; Budaeva & Fauchald 2011: 350 –353 (in part), fig. 19A, B.

Material examined. MNHN-IA-TYPE1246 (holotype), ORSTOM Expedition, off Côte d’Ivoire, 5.055ºN – 4.083ºW, 200 m depth, 23 Nov 1966, dredge, coll. Intes, A & LeLoeuff, P.

Diagnosis (based on our examination of holotype, variations stated in original description given in parentheses). Eyes present; palps reaching chaetiger 1 (3), median antenna reaching chaetiger 3 (15–20), lateral antennae reaching chaetiger 4 (original description stating “slightly shorter than median antenna”); ceratophores with 3–4 (5–6) rings, without lateral projections. Peristomial cirri present. Anterior three pairs of parapodia modified; ventral cirri on first three chaetigers, postchaetal lobes present to chaetiger 5. Modified parapodia with bidentate pseudocompound hooks with long pointed hoods; from chaetiger 4 replaced by limbate chaetae; lower limbate chaetae replaced from chaetiger 9 by subacicular hooks and two pectinate chaetae with slightly oblique combs with 12–14 teeth. Branchiae pectinate, starting as single filaments at chaetiger 9 (12), with a maximum of two filaments, appearing to be present to posterior end. Tube with inner parchment-like layer covered by thin smooth muddy layer.

Remarks. The species has been redefined according to its holotype and original description. Specimens reported as P. bihanica by Budaeva & Fauchald (2011) and Arias & Paxton (2015) differ in having much shorter antennae; postchaetal lobes are present on eight rather than on five anterior chaetigers. In specimens from the Mediterranean Sea and Iberian Peninsula the median antenna is consistently shorter than the lateral ones and hence have been referred to P. calliopae (see below). Collections reported by Budaeva & Fauchald (2011) from West Africa differ slightly from the latter specimens in that their median antenna is almost as long as the lateral ones. Further studies are needed to determine whether they represent a variant of P. calliopae or an undescribed species.

Distribution. Eastern North Atlantic, West Africa, off Ivory Coast.