Aspidosiphon (Akrikos) zinni Cutler

Aspidosiphon (Akrikos) cf. zinni Cutler

Aspidosiphon zinni Cutler, 1969: 209 –211.

Type locality: East Coast of the U.S., 39.43° N, 70.6° W, 2496 m.

Remarks: The two 5 mm transparent thin worms have continuous longitudinal musculature and a pale, ungrooved anal shield made up of fine uniform granular units. The introvert is shorter than the trunk and has scattered, small, pale hooks and no observable tentacles.

Distribution: Common in the northern Atlantic Ocean at depths of 1100–4400 m, plus two records from around 9° S off the Congo River. In the Indian Ocean there is one report from the Mozambique Channel and one from the Reunion Islands. The worms frequently live in arenaceous foraminiferan tests. The present specimens are thousands of kilometres from any previously known populations of A. zinni. Since they are very small deep­water animals it is conceivable that the species has been overlooked by previous collectors Before accepting the present material as unequivocally this species, we prefer to have additional specimens for confirmation.