A new species of Dipolydora (Annelida, Spionidae) from deep-water methane seep habitats off Louisiana (Gulf of Mexico), a borer in shells of the gastropod Kanoia meroglypta
Blake, J.A. (2025). A new species of Dipolydora (Annelida, Spionidae) from deep-water methane seep habitats off Louisiana (Gulf of Mexico), a borer in shells of the gastropod Kanoia meroglypta. Zootaxa 5679(1): 74-82. https://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5679.1.3
In: Zootaxa. Magnolia Press: Auckland. ISSN 1175-5326; e-ISSN 1175-5334, more
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| Keywords |
Dipolydora walkerae Blake, 2025 [WoRMS]; Kanoia meroglypta (J. H. McLean & Quinn, 1987) [WoRMS]; Trochidae Rafinesque, 1815 [WoRMS]
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| Author keywords |
Deep-sea, shell borer, polychaete |
| Abstract |
A new shell-boring spionid polychaete of the genus Dipolydora is described from the gastropod, Kanoia meroglypta (Family Trochidae), collected from mussel beds on the continental slope off Louisiana at a depth of 617 m in an area of methane seepage. The new species belongs to a large group of Spionidae comprising the Polydora complex (ca. 178 species) having a modified setiger 5. The new species, Dipolydora walkerae sp. nov., belongs to a small group of Dipolydora having large hooked spines on setiger 5 surmounted with a crest or cloak of fine bristles or fibrils and has posterior notopodia with modified acicular spines. The majority of polydorins are from intertidal or continental shelf depths; deep-water accounts are few and poorly documented. The new species is compared with its closest congener, Dipolydora armata. Previous accounts of shell-boring polydorins from offshore are tabulated by the depth of occurrence and discussed. The new species represents the deepest confirmed record for a shell-boring spionid polychaete. |
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